


the red tape

by likeuwuahh



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F, don't leave the duck alone
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-04
Updated: 2018-12-30
Packaged: 2019-06-05 03:17:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 38,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15161345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/likeuwuahh/pseuds/likeuwuahh
Summary: fresh out of high school, nayeon is heading towards her college far away from home. she wants to leave behind her memories from her hometown, ready to make new ones. but, it's all thrown out of the window when she finds out who her roommate is. she didn't know how it was possible. out of the thousands of possible people she could've been roomed with, it ends up being with the one person who hates her since high school, minatozaki sana.and if that wasn't a surprise itself, the japanese girl forms an idea to place red tape in the middle of their dorm room. boundaries are formed and the temptations to break them are just as large. will they last, or will it all fall apart?





	1. [you?!]

Eighteen years.

Nayeon stood outside her home, admiring the building she grew up in one last time. She might not be going forever, but she still felt emotional leaving the place. She had been in that house for eighteen years and was now moving across the country to live on campus as she got accepted to the college that she wanted to attend. She was new to it and it made her nervous and terrified but at the same time, excited about the new adventure that awaited her. She wanted to take this as a chance to have a fresh start and make new friends.

High school was not something she wanted to remember. The whole hierarchy thing that existed and the stupid conceptions that jocks and cheerleaders were the coolest of them all – who even suggested such a thing? And then… there was that girl in the middle of it all. Nayeon was still confused about what had made her hate her so much in their senior year when she hadn’t done anything to her. But, there was no point in bothering to think about it now. They’d already graduated and were leaving town – she’d never see her again.

Nayeon slammed the boot of her car shut, packing the last of her belongings. It was a long drive to her college, and she was driving there alongside her best friend – who was attending the same place as she was. Just as she got the last of her items in, her mother called her inside, something about a farewell ritual before she left. She simply rolled her eyes, knowing that she was going to bawl her eyes out over their ‘baby’ leaving them for college. Do all parents overexaggerate when their child leaves to go to college?

As soon as she caught Hirai Momo’s teasing look when she walked inside the house, Nayeon knew there was more to it than expected. Her parents engulfed her in a hug, cooing over how fast she’d grown up. Her best friend was trying not to laugh, and Nayeon shot her a glare, getting her to stop with her antics.

“I’ll be fine. I’ll come back during break time.” Nayeon comforted the pair, who left the embrace with much difficulty.

“Momo dear, let us hug you too.”

The teasing smile that was on Momo’s face was long gone as Nayeon’s parents approached her. It was time for Nayeon to laugh behind Momo, struggling to keep a straight face as Momo squirmed slightly as she got hugged.

“Alright, you two. Have fun and make sure you call. Also, I know it’s a new sense of freedom, but please be responsible.”

The girls nodded eagerly, waving to the parents before sitting in the car together.

“You’re so lucky you’re my best friend.” Momo snickered.

“You’re lucky too, or else you’d be stuck driving on your own.” Nayeon retorted, effectively ending arguments.

“Can I at least control the music?” Momo sighed.

“Nope. You were laughing at my misery inside the house.” Nayeon shook her head as she reversed out of her driveway.

“Oh come on, you laughed at me too!” Momo argued.

“No Barbie songs.” Nayeon deadpanned.

“That was ONCE!” Momo groaned, slapping Nayeon’s shoulder.

The two of them continued to bicker, fighting over which songs they should play, before eventually settling for a Spotify playlist. They were both thinking about the change from high school life to college dorm life. Who would be their roommates? Would they find any reasonable people to date? Were the courses enjoyable? Was it the right choice?

Regardless of what either of them thought about their situation, they were grateful that they had the other with them, along for the next stage in their lives. College sounded terrifying, but with friends, it just made it sound a little more bearable.

\---

On the other side of their hometown.

Someone was running late for her departure, getting force-fed by her parents so that she would have a safe trip. Minatozaki Sana, being the only child in her household, was constantly doted on by her parents. One person was feeding her toast from one side, while the other was pouring out a glass of orange juice on the opposite. Her bags were fortunately already packed and ready to be thrown into her friend’s car.

As much as she wanted to drive there herself, her parents were against in, worrying about her wellbeing throughout the drive. They were fine with her sitting with her friend, but not doing the driving on her own. The way her parents thought surprised her sometimes.

She scarfed down her breakfast, well, more like brunch – but she wanted to be out of the house as soon as she could. Sana had already told her friend to come later and now, she needed to finish quickly.

“Sweetheart, don’t eat so fast. You’ll choke.”

As if on cue, Sana choked on a piece of toast, gulping down the orange juice to help her. She washed up her plates, kissing her parents’ cheeks before heading towards the front door.

“Did you take your lunch?”

“Yes, I did. Don’t worry. Mina will be here any second now!” Sana replied to the worries of her parents.

“Have a safe trip. Let us know when you get there and get settled inside. We’ll meet up with you a few hours after you get there.”

Right, her parents were making sure Sana was well settled in too. She loved her parents, really – but it wasn’t needed for them to come all the way out to her college to make sure she was okay.

“It’s fine mum, dad. I’ll video call you when I get there so there’s no need to come.” Sana shook her head, hugging her parents.

A horn blared outside and Sana left her parents, grabbing her bags and pulling them towards Mina’s car. She stifled a scoff as she saw her friend with her aviators on, pretending to be cool in front of her parents.

“You do know, they’ve known you for a few years now. Wearing sunglasses won’t make you look cool.” Sana mocked.

“Oh, shush. I think they look good.” Mina stuck out her tongue, hugging her friend. “Ready to leave this place?’

“Yes. Please. The horrors of high school are lingering in my mind, still. I need a fresh start. I hope I have a cute roommate.” Sana groaned.

“I still don’t know why you hated Nayeon so much towards the end.” Mina clucked her tongue.

“I don’t even want to go there. That girl drives me crazy with just the mere mention of her name.” Sana shuddered.

The majority of her high school days were fine, honestly. But once Sana had reached senior year, the girl by the name of Im Nayeon, basically ruined her life and embarrassed her. And on top of that, she never had the audacity to apologise for what she did. Sana was fine with that, really. She would leave her past in her past. The college was what she had to think about now and Im Nayeon can just disappear from her mind.

“What if she becomes your roommate?” Mina asked.

“Oh my god, Mina, don’t say that, please. I hope she’s at some other university, far away from me, thank you.” Sana whined.

“Possibilities are endless.” Mina chuckled, basking in her friend’s misery.

Sana ignored Mina’s comments, deciding to sleep instead. She didn’t want her day to be ruined by the memories of that girl in the first place. Anything would be better than seeing her again in college. Damn Mina for even suggesting it in the first place. She didn’t want to have a nightmare when she slept!

\---

Driving into the campus, both Nayeon and Momo were left speechless by the beauty of the buildings. It stretched so far, you could most likely get lost if you had classes in different areas. The girls parked in the student area, stretching as they stepped out of the car. They would check-in but they were currently starving. Momo ate all their snacks on their way to the college and she was _still_ hungry. There was seriously no limit to her hunger.

“You’re not choosing.” Nayeon cut Momo off as soon as so opened her mouth.

“What? Hey! That’s not fair.” Momo whined.

“You ate all my snacks. You suffer now.” Nayeon glared, walking around campus to find something good to eat.

Of course, options were limited but they didn’t want to leave the campus grounds when they’d just gotten here. It wouldn’t be too difficult to find a suitable place to eat when the college was so large. At this stage, anything would suffice.

Momo grumbled, but didn’t argue, moving to stand by Nayeon’s side as she walked around the campus, offering smiles to students. Without getting lost, they managed to find a nice cafeteria to eat at, sliding into a booth at the back. Nayeon looked around, admiring the cosy feeling that exuded from the place. This was really a nice place to come to, she was glad she chose it.

As quickly as the food came, Momo inhaled it all, failing to surprise Nayeon. God, how did she eat so fast and so much, yet never gain a single kilogram.

“Are you a human or a vacuum cleaner?” Nayeon snickered, chucking a tissue at Momo to get her to wipe her face.

“Let me eat in peace. Why are you always nit-picking on everything that I’m doing?” Momo whined.

“If I don’t do it, who will? There’s yet to be someone who can get you to turn back into a human.” Nayeon muttered. “You pay.”

Nayeon left Momo in the café, leaving the place to sit outside in the sun. She would be starting classes soon, and this freedom would not last long. She’d heard all about the hell season, which was exam week. She hoped, her roommate wouldn’t be some sex-crazed person or a loud mouth. She needed to be at peace when she studied. She became nervous at the thought of what type of person they could be. It was a random person – someone she’d never met before. Would they be open to getting to know the other?

She was brought out of her thoughts when Momo collided her shoulders with her own. Her best friend shot her a glare, but Nayeon smiled sweetly, wrapping her arm around Momo’s neck and holding in a lock.

“Come on, let’s settle you in first.” Nayeon pulled Momo, ignoring her protests to let her go.

\---

A gruelling hour later, Momo was settled into her dorm room. Her roommate had yet to come in, so the girl was waiting nervously. Admittedly, Nayeon was in the same situation even though it didn’t seem like it. She was trying to calm Momo down, but it wasn’t helping her either. A knock on the door and the two girls jolted off the bed. Nayeon moved to open the door quickly, glaring at Momo who remained frozen in place.

She was so shocked by how beautiful the girl was that she couldn’t even move. Nayeon’s patience was growing thin though. She could clearly see that the girl was struggling but Momo was the stronger one of the two.

“Momo, help.” Nayeon whispered harshly, gaining her attention.

She rushed to help the girl, who was flustered with how easily Momo had lifted up her baggage and placed it inside.

“I’m just going to drop my friend to her dorm and I’ll be back. I’m Hirai Momo.” Momo greeted, shaking the girl’s hand.

She just nodded, and Nayeon waved goodbye before pulling Momo out with her. “I can’t believe how gay you are sometimes.”

“Excuse me, she’s stunning. You can’t blame me.” Momo shrugged.

A short ten minutes later, they found themselves outside of Nayeon’s room. She knocked, nervously biting on her nails as she waited. She couldn’t help herself as she saw the girl who opened the door, revealing her roommate.

“You?!”


	2. [i am not having you inside this room]

Nayeon stood rooted in her spot upon noticing the girl who had opened the door. She wasn’t seeing things, was she? Out of all the possibilities in the world, how could Nayeon’s luck be so bad, that it followed her all the way from her hometown to her college? Behind her shoulder, she could see that Momo was just as shocked as she was.

Minatozaki Sana stood in front of her, sporting a grimace on her face that probably mirrored her own.

“Oh my god, I can’t believe this.” Sana muttered, shutting the door on Nayeon’s face.

“What the hell?!” Nayeon shouted, banging on the door again. Momo groaned beside her, wondering what was going on.

“Huh? What are you guys doing here?” A soft voice spoke from behind the duo.

Momo’s roommate looked at them in confusion, trying to make sense of the situation. Sana had messaged her to come to her dorm room because she was stuck in a problem and hadn’t specified what it was.

“She closed the door on my face. I’m her roommate.” Nayeon growled, annoyed already.

Visibly shaken, she knocked on the dorm door. “Sana? Open up, it’s Mina.”

Momo’s ears perked up at the knowledge of her roommate’s name. She hadn’t managed to get it off her earlier when she quickly introduced herself to Mina in their room.

“If she’s letting you in, I’m coming in too.” Nayeon muttered, earning a nod from Mina.

A few seconds later, Sana opened the door, rolling her eyes as she received a glare from Nayeon. She was about to push the door to not allow Nayeon to enter, but Mina had stopped her, holding onto the door for Nayeon.

“Thank you. At least someone is considerate enough.” Nayeon huffed, pulling in her luggage and getting ready to unpack.

“I am not having you inside this room!” Sana let out a frustrated groan.

“Well, you don’t have a choice. I don’t know what your problem is, but as you can see, both our names are on that bloody list.” Nayeon said, pointing towards the names on the door. “If you’d spent some time looking at that before unpacking, you would’ve seen it. And, we wouldn’t be in this situation right now!”

Sana took a few steps back as Nayeon towered over her, nostrils flaring from the anger building up inside of her. Who did she think she was to argue about who remained inside the dorm room? Just because she arrived there first? Either way, if there was a possibility of moving out, Nayeon would jump at the opportunity, rather than remain in the room with someone who hated her to the core.

“I don’t know what your problem is, but I won’t have you telling _me_ what to do.” Nayeon mumbled, walking away from Sana.

Sana took that chance to talk to Mina, glowering at her for letting Nayeon inside. “Why did you do that?!”

“She’s your roommate. Don’t be inconsiderate. Why are you not letting her inside?” Mina calmly asked.

“Remember my senior year? That’s the girl that’s responsible.” Sana grumbled.

Mina’s eyes widened in recognition, recalling Sana’s struggles in her last year of high school before they graduated. “Look, the past in the past. You can’t hold on to it if you want to move into the future. Also, she seems nice! Maybe she changed over summer.”

“Oh dear god, has she gotten to you already? How?!” Sana stomped her feet angrily.

“She came with my roommate and helped her settle in. She helped me too.” Mina shrugged, pointing to the girl who was awkwardly standing by the door.

“Trust me, that’s not who she really is.” Sana sighed, holding her head in her hand.

She couldn’t be Nayeon’s roommate when it reminded her of everything that had happened in her final year of high school. Sana still held it in her heart because the memories were fresh. They’d only graduated months ago and when she was finally getting over everything that had happened, turns out that they were in the same dorm room.

“Sana, do you really know that it was her fault?” Mina asked.

“Of course! I heard it myself.” Sana scowled.

“Fine. If you think you can’t room with her, go to the secretary together and tell her that you want to change rooms.” Mina suggested.

“Why are we going together?!” Sana screeched.

“Lower your voice, what the hell Sana!” Mina scolded, slapping her friend’s shoulder.

Momo watched the two girls talk animatedly as her own best friend stood across them, furiously unpacking her bag. She moved towards her, helping her out and trying to calm her down together. She tried to put herself in Nayeon’s shoes, silently applauding her for the restraint of her anger in the current situation. Risking a glance back to her own roommate, Momo blushed as she realised that the girl was staring back at her.

She grinned upon noticing Momo’s reddening cheeks, before turning her attention back to Sana. Momo could tell that Mina was doing her best to calm the girl down and it was working, a little bit. It still looked like Sana had steam coming out of her ears, but a little less. Though, she was actually worried for Nayeon. Living with Sana permanently would definitely be a difficult situation. She would offer to swap spots with her but it was strictly against rules to change roommates that were organised by the college.

“Hey, Momo?” Mina called out.

Momo whipped her head so fast, Nayeon snorted beside her at her speed. “Yes?”

“Can you come here for a second?” Mina smiled, gesturing her to follow her. “As you can see, our friends are not getting along well.”

“Not getting along well might be an understatement.” Momo muttered under her breath, freezing upon hearing Mina’s laughter yet again.

“I completely agree.” Mina nodded. “I have an idea. I think we only have two options. Either one of us can swap with them or, we can contact the secretary.”

“Secretary.” Momo answered immediately, slapping her hand over her mouth as she tried to compose herself. “Uh, of course, we should let the college do the changes – if we do it by ourselves it won’t be okay? And it’s not a good idea to change the dorms since it’s not actually allowed and I don’t think we should be the ones to make such a decision. I think we should remain roommates instead and–”

“Momo.” Mina stopped Momo’s ranting, placing her hand on her arm. “I got your point and I agree. I was just telling Sana that the two of them should go to the secretary and tell them about their situation. I’m sure they’ll sort something out.”

Momo nodded. “I’ll tell Nayeon. It’s better to get this sorted out now anyway. They’ve both unpacked.”

Mina offered a small a smile before returning to Sana’s side. Momo sighed, mentally scolding herself for her lack of smooth talking. She just froze up whenever Mina touched her or laughed or basically breathed in her direction. How would _she_ survive being roommates with her if she was already like this by just being near her?

“Nayeon, go to the secretary and organise your rooming. Maybe you guys can change rooms. I’m going to head back to my dorm, so just let me know how it goes, okay? If you need more help later, just let me know and I’ll come right away.” Momo nudged her shoulders. “We can go out for dinner later.”

“Why is my luck so bad?” Nayeon groaned, pushing her hair back into a ponytail as she watched Sana talking to Mina. “I don’t know what I did to her, she hates me – and I’m roomed with her.”

“Hey, maybe you’ll be able to change rooms! Mina’s idea is good. The quicker you go, the higher the chance.” Momo grinned.

“Whipped already, huh?” Nayeon teased, patting Momo’s shoulders.

Momo blushed, kicking Nayeon’s shin for revenge. God, that girl really knew when to run her mouth sometimes. “You’re the one in this lovely situation. Shut it.”

“Okay, okay. I’m sorry. Thank you for looking out for me.” Nayeon gave up, grabbing her dorm key and leaving the room.

Sana followed up behind her, refusing to walk by Nayeon’s side. She let out a scoff, not surprised by her behaviour at all. Seeing as she was still being treated this way even after leaving high school, Nayeon knew that Sana would maintain a distance and complain about her presence in her life. It’s not like Nayeon wanted to be stuck in such a situation either. She thought she was going to have a good few years at the college but her first day had already caught her off guard.

\---

They didn’t utter a single word all the way to the secretary’s office. Nayeon shook her head as she walked in first, greeting the woman.

“Before you two have a seat, if you have come here in hopes of changing rooms, I’m sorry but it’s not possible at this stage.”

Both girls froze in their spots upon hearing the words leave the secretary’s lips. No way that could happen. They would leave the room with a change of rooms or else both of them would go crazy living in a room together.

“We can’t live with each other.” Sana frowned as she began talking.

“I wish I could help you, but there are no available rooms to change either of you into.”

“Not even another person from our line of rooms?” Sana asked, growing impatient.

“No, I’m sorry about that. All of them have been paired and no one has asked to change their roommate. May I ask what the issue is?”

“We can’t remain in the same dorm room. We’ve known each other from high school and it wasn’t a good time.” Sana explained.

“Well, if you two were classmates in high school, it wouldn’t be hard for you two to get along. You’re acquainted with each other.”

“She hates me. We can’t be roommates.” Nayeon bluntly explained.

“At this moment in time, I’m afraid I can’t do anything for either of you girls. If you feel like you absolutely can’t live with your roommate, during mid-semester break we will try and sort something out for you girls.”

“That’s another 7 weeks away at least!” Sana gasped.

“I have no option for you. You can find a place externally otherwise.”

Sana let out an exasperated sigh, running her hand through her hair as she thought of the options she had.

None.

She had to deal with staying in a room with the smug looking brat standing next to her, who hadn’t even tried to help their situation. Damn Mina and her speaking of the possibility that she’d be living with Nayeon. She stormed out of the room angrily, leaving a bewildered Nayeon behind, who apologised to the secretary before following Sana.

When Nayeon returned to the dorm room, Sana wasn’t in sight. The girl had just disappeared out of thin air when she was following her. She _was_ worried about Sana even though she openly hated her existence. If Nayeon had a choice, she’d find another place to live in to make everything easier. She could remain back at home but daily commute would be an issue. The best she could do would be to live at her family friend’s house, fifteen minutes away from college.

She was contemplating her options, when Sana stomped right into their room, scaring Nayeon. She was carrying a bulky plastic bag – probably from a convenience store nearby. Nayeon turned back to the wall beside her bed, thinking of a solution. A few minutes later, she frowned, hearing the loud ripping of tape that made her turn her attention back to Sana.

Nayeon froze upon seeing Sana standing in their kitchen, peeling red tape off a wheel. She couldn’t possibly be doing what she thought she was.

Sana was getting ready to tape their entire room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> barely surviving @likeuwuahh on twitter ^^


	3. [is she stalking me?]

Nayeon was flabbergasted as she saw what Sana was doing. What was going on in her mind to do such a thing? How had she thought of using tape to split the entire dorm room in half? The sound of pulling the tape frustrated Nayeon. She couldn’t handle it anymore. She stormed up to Sana, pulling the tape from her hands. Sana glowered at her, asking for the item back.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Nayeon fumed.

“I’m doing what’s right. It’s already frustrating having you in this room with me, I’m not going to deal with anymore. Either you live with this or find your own place.” Sana suggested, pulling the tape off Nayeon.

She scoffed but let Sana be, knowing that butting heads with her would be a bad choice at this time. On the bright side, it would mean that they’d respect each others boundaries.

Unable to bear the screeching noise, Nayeon left the room to join Momo. She knocked on their dorm door, greeting Mina with a smile as she opened the door first.

“Is everything okay?” Mina asked.

“She’s splitting the entire dorm room in half.” Nayeon sighed, making Mina widen her eyes.

“What?!” Mina gasped.

“I’m sorry if I end up popping by here more than usual. It’s still hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that I’ll be rooming with her.” Nayeon apologised.

“Being her friend of five years, I completely understand.” Mina offered an assuring smile, patting Nayeon’s back. “Let me go have a talk with her.”

Momo came out of the bathroom as they finished their conversation. Mina tried to hide her blush upon seeing her wrapped in a towel, but it was noticed by Nayeon, who only chuckled at the effect. Momo looked between them in confusion, wondering if they were teasing her.

“I’ll get changed quickly.” Momo muttered.

“Oh, no, take your time.” Nayeon grinned cheekily, earning a jab from Mina.

“Are you okay Nay?” Momo snickered.

“More than fine.” Nayeon struggled to keep in her laughter as Mina whined beside her.

“Momo, I’m just going to Sana’s dorm. I’ll see you later.” Mina escaped, almost running out the door.

Nayeon shook her head at the sight, finding the mutual attraction between the pair quite cute. Seeing someone who made Momo speechless? A rare catch.

“What happened?” Momo asked as soon as Mina left.

Nayeon sighed heavily, groaning and collapsing on Momo’s bed. She was lucky to have no restrictions on her living arrangement with Mina. She had no idea what she was going to return to when she went back to her dorm room afterwards. It infuriated her that Nayeon let herself be controlled by that girl, without putting up an effort of rejection. She understood respecting boundaries but this was too much.

“I’m about to go nuts. She’s so infuriating.” Nayeon screamed into the pillow on her bed.

“Just deal with it for a little while.” Momo encouraged, patting Nayeon’s head. “Do you want to go out for food and drinks? Might make you feel less worrying about class tomorrow too.”

“Argh. I just need an escape.” Nayeon agreed, jumping off the bed.

\---

Nayeon blinked thrice, not believing her line of sight.

“Is she stalking me?” Nayeon asked out loud.

They’d arrived at a fast food restaurant about fifteen minutes ago and just finished ordering. Leaving the campus had done wonders, but the cause of her stress had followed her. Sana stood at the entrance with Mina.

“What are you talking about?” Momo asked, mouth full of fries. She turned to where Nayeon was looking at, jaw dropping as she noticed the pair. She looked around, realising there weren’t any seats available, other than the table they were at.

Nayeon seemed like she thought the same and her eyes immediately widened as she recognised the look in Momo’s eyes. “Absolutely not."

Smiling innocently, Momo called for Mina’s attention, and she grinned as Mina waved back. She pointed to the table and Nayeon just wanted to hide herself. Momo was truly an embarrassment sometimes.

“Hey, swap! Come sit next to me.” Momo whispered.

“What? No way! That means I have to see Sana while I eat.” Nayeon shook her head.

“Do it for me.” Momo pleaded.

Nayeon cursed under her breath glaring at Momo before sliding up beside her, crossing her arms. What she was doing for their friendship.

Mina smiled widely as she approached their table, nudging Sana, who looked like she didn’t want to be with them either.

“Can’t we eat at the dorms?” Sana whispered.

“No. I’m not making a mess of my dorm when it’s our first day. And, you won’t clean up, so no.” Mina answered, beating Sana and sitting in front of Momo.

Nayeon and Sana awkwardly sat at the table, watching their friends embarrass their selves. The former drummed her fingers against the table as she waited for the arrival of her meal, trying to distract herself.

“Can you stop that, for god's sake?” Sana growled, hating the noise.

“Once you stop tapping the table leg with your own.” Nayeon shrugged.

Rendered speechless, Sana didn’t attempt to argue, pouting at the treatment and remaining silent. Nayeon’s meal arrived moments later, and she would’ve dived right into it if Momo hadn’t kicked her. She glared at her best friend, wondering why she was being disturbed.

“Wait for theirs.” Momo scolded.

Nayeon guffawed, knowing how weird it was to hear Momo say those words. She was always the one who ate first but now she was willing to wait? She could see her offer Mina chips from her plate and she was shocked yet again. Nayeon pulled her tray closer to hers, not wanting to share hers with Sana’s. But seeing Sana quietly distract herself, Nayeon felt like sharing, nudging Sana with her tray. She looked at her with surprise and bowed her head, hiding her face with her hair as she basically inhaled the chips.

She didn’t know what to do so she just watched Sana as she munched on, cheeks puffing up like a squirrel as she ate. Nayeon’s chips were probably gone in a few minutes, leaving only her burger and drink. Her eye twitched as she saw Sana reach out for the burger, but the pair’s meal was brought to the them, allowing Nayeon to grab her own tray back again. Momo owed her a proper dinner next time for going through such torture.

Even if she tried to be angry, she couldn’t.

Mina sent Nayeon an apologetic smile as she stared at Sana, sighing softly and giving up. Maybe she was a little but cute, just maybe.

\---

Nayeon and Sana walked back into their room quietly, neither uttering a word. She’d yet to see what Sana had done with the division of the room and she knew she was going to be surprised. Sana headed in first, leaving Nayeon to gulp in nervousness.

The red tape split the room evenly, even going all the way to the kitchen. She stood by the door, noting all the locations and every corner of their room.

“The rule is simple. If we’re in an area together, just stay on the other side of the line.” Sana grumbled, walking to her bed. “Nothing of yours can be on my side. Nothing of mine can be on yours. It includes dishes in the sink. Let’s just deal with the next few weeks. I don’t want to deal with you in the day time. We can just avoid each other.”

Nayeon had no energy to fight, and agreed, walking to her bed and collapsing upon it. It had been a long day for her and she was still not ready for the next day when her classes all started. She was going to meet new people tomorrow and she really hoped it went well. First days were always scary to think about.

She was almost asleep when she heard Sana moving around. Nayeon sighed but listened, knowing Sana was about to say something else. How did she have the energy? Nayeon had no idea at all.

“... Also, thank you for sharing your meal.” Sana added, catching Nayeon off guard.

So, she could say thank you.

Nayeon hummed, not providing a proper response. If she were to be honest, she was exhausted with the whole day’s events. Traveling from home, settling in, meeting Sana, arguing and even dinner – she was ready to just fall asleep.

She’d deal with Sana tomorrow, including everything about the bloody red tape. For now, she just wanted to close her eyes and get some rest.

\---

Sana woke up after Nayeon the next morning, realising she’d slept through two of her set alarms already. She scrambled to get ready, getting caught in her bed sheets and almost falling down. She didn’t need her clumsiness this morning. If she dressed fast enough, she’d make it just in time. Sana threw on a quick outfit, grabbing an apple from their fruit bowl and ran out of their room to head to the first lecture of the day. Please, don’t judge her. She kept about five alarms set for her morning classes because she usually slept through them all. At least she was being wary of the new lifestyle without her mother waking her up early in the morning. It was a start!

She sped her way through the crowded halls of the college, bumping and apologising to students as she rushed. She couldn’t be late on her first day of college. It was an absolute no. Her speed walking turned into running and she found herself in front of her room, finally. Heaving deeply, she made her way into her class on time, seating herself at the back of the large crowd of students. Sana nervously fiddled with her pen, awaiting the professor’s entrance into the room. She scanned the room for any familiar faces, pleased to find none – well, more so relieved. She really didn’t want to see anyone _else_ from high school when she was already dealing with Nayeon.

Thinking back to their events from their first meeting, Sana was actually now surprised. Admittedly, Nayeon was sweet to share her food last night but Sana had seen her pull the tray towards her first. Though, not taking that into consideration, it was a nice gesture from her. The night had been awkward and she did feel a little bit bad about setting up the red tape but boundaries had to be set. Sana had to put her foot down to make sure that Nayeon wouldn’t walk all over her and make her feel inferior like that final year of high school. She wanted to make herself be shown as a confident person who wouldn’t take no for an answer. This was the start. The red tape had to be done.

The entire cohort quietened down and Sana sat up straight, paying attention. There would be a roll call soon too, if she recalled from what she read up on the course guide. Each class had roll calls to ensure no one missed any. Sana had only scoffed when she reached that part of text. Did the college really expect students to attend _every_ single class? It was high hopes for sure.

“Alright, everyone. Welcome to the introductory class on those who have chosen Film as their major. I’ll start the roll call now."

Sana was noting each student as they were called out, nodding along and waiting for her own turn.

“Nayeon Im.”

Oh, hell no.

This wasn’t happening.

Sana was dreaming, right?

There was no way that her and Nayeon would be in the same course. She searched the crowd, finding the brunette as she acknowledged her presence. That husky voice? Definitely Nayeon.

Sana and Nayeon would be in the same course.

Sana and Nayeon would be in the same classes.

Sana and Nayeon would be seeing each other more often.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> @likeuwuahh on twitter :))


	4. [fine. then starve]

It really felt like the world was against Sana. Everything was going in the wrong direction and she didn’t know how to react. From seeing Nayeon again, to rooming with her and now being in the same course – what was only left for them was the joining of the two for an assignment. If that happened, Sana would definitely be convinced that nothing was going to go right in her college life. Why was it that when she didn’t want to see the girl, she saw _more_ of her?

Sana grumbled throughout the entire lesson, barely listening in on the introductory lesson since it had started. It didn’t help that Nayeon was in her direct line of sight, allowing her to see every movement she made. The girl was paying attention and taking notes, unlike herself – distracted by the person she shouldn’t even be looking at.

Before she even had a chance to get into notetaking, the class was dismissed, leaving Sana flabbergasted as she rushed to pack all of her belongings. Had she really spent the entire hour ogling at Nayeon? What in god’s name was wrong with her?

No! It wasn’t ogling.

Sana was just observing and seeing if she could find a reason to get Nayeon out of her room quicker.

Yes.

And… she’d ended up with nothing. There was no doubt that Nayeon was as studious as she was in high school, meaning that Sana had competition in college, just like in the past.

She basically stomped all the way to their dorm, anger peaking as she realised Nayeon was in the room before she was. Slamming her bag on the foot of her bed, Sana mumbled under her breath as she grabbed something to eat from the fridge – only to find it empty.

God, she could almost burst into tears at the day she was having. Why must the world hate her and treat her like this? Sana groaned, slamming the door shut and glaring at the white appliance.

“What did the fridge do to you?” Nayeon snickered as she popped up behind Sana.

She received no answer and Nayeon was tempted to poke Sana to get an answer from her.

Sana turned around, glaring at Nayeon before pointing at her feet. “Get off my side of the dorm. Stop crowding me.”

Nayeon raised her eyebrows but inched her toe back, taking a bite into her apple as she watched Sana with curiosity.

“Move back.” Sana growled.

“I’m on my side of the line.” Nayeon shrugged, smirking as she could see Sana turn red.

“Argh! Why are you so infuriating!? First you’re in this room with me, then you’re in my classes, then you’re crossing over my line and eating an apple in front of my face when I have no food!” Sana shouted in annoyance, catching Nayeon off guard.

“You don’t have food?” Nayeon worriedly asked.

“Do you see me eating?” Sana rolled her eyes.

“Here, take this.” Nayeon pulled out a brown paper bag from beside her desk, handing it over to Sana.

“What is this?” Sana looked at it with disgust.

“Melon bread. I swear, it’s really tasty.” Nayeon advised.

“Why would I eat anything you bought?” Sana grimaced, placing the bag back on their counter.

Nayeon’s shoulders sagged as she saw Sana’s actions. She was really trying her best to be civil but Sana wasn’t helping. All she wanted to was help out her roommate but why was she being such a brat?

“Fine. Then starve.” Nayeon muttered, walking away from Sana and grabbing her books and leaving the room.

Sana remained rooted in her spot, guiltiness eating at her for her behaviour towards Nayeon. Okay, maybe it was a little _too_ much. She eyed the bag again, feeling her stomach grumble in protest.

She should just throw it out.

Stepping on the pedal of their rubbish bin, Sana held the bag over it, biting her lip as she contemplated whether to throw it out or leave it in.

Her stomach grumbled one more time and Sana decided against it, opening the bag to take a bite of the delicious treat. Just as she swallowed the first bite, the door opened again, making Sana panic and turn around, refusing to make eye contact with Nayeon. She tried to be discreet about the fact that she just ate what she said she wasn’t going to.

But, she could hear the light chuckle from her lips and heat creeped up Sana’s neck in embarrassment. So much for discreet – she was a hundred percent sure that Nayeon had picked up on the missing treat on their counter.

Whatever, she wasn’t going to think about it again. She was glad for the baked good but she wasn’t going to dwell on it… she wasn’t.

\---

Out of the four classes for the semester, Sana was with Nayeon for three of them. THREE of them. And adding to the encounter earlier, she didn’t have the courage to even face her roommate. Thank god she escaped during lunch time with Mina or else she would’ve gone mad. Actually, towards the end – Sana did think she was already mad because she kept hearing Nayeon’s laughter echo in her ears while she left the cafeteria.

Unadmittedly, Sana had frozen on her spot upon seeing Nayeon laugh, head tilted back as she slapped the shoulder of her friend next to her. She didn’t know if it was a good thing or a bad thing that she thought it was _actually_ cute.

Beside her, Mina was trying to keep in her laughter at Sana’s frozen state. She said she hated Nayeon, but clearly, things were changing already if Sana was staring at Nayeon like a piece of meat.

“See anything interesting?” Mina teased, breaking Sana out of her daze.

“Of course not.” Sana proudly stated, speed walking away from the cafeteria.

Mina shook her head at her friend’s denial but remained silent, already receiving her answer. Though, she wouldn’t dare to say it – Nayeon was already growing on Sana.

“Oh, right. You didn’t eat breakfast this morning, right? At least nothing proper?” Mina questioned, moving to dig something out of her bag.

“No, I ate something.” Sana answered, shrugging her shoulders.

“What? You told me you didn’t find anything.” Mina asked in confusion.

“Well, I ate something small. That’s why I’m trying to find a good place to eat now.” Sana said, trying to end their conversation.

Mina didn’t push on further but something was very fishy with how Sana had been acting all morning up until now.

“It has nothing to do with Nayeon, right?” Mina questioned as Sana drank water, making her choke on the liquid.

Okay, so it _was_ related to Nayeon.

“Wow, it really is about her.” Mina chuckled, making Sana blush.

“I’m annoyed and frustrated because of her, okay! She’s even in all of my classes.” Sana groaned.

“Is that what they call it these days? Annoyed and frustrated?” Mina mocked, earning a shove from Sana.

“Be quiet.” Sana muttered, walking ahead of Mina.

Mina shook her head and laughed, catching up to her friend and linking her arm with hers. She’d totally tease her all about it later.

\---

“So, Sana was totally looking at you in the cafeteria.” Momo wiggled her eyebrows.

“Yeah, probably plotting how to kill me.” Nayeon scoffed.

“It definitely didn’t look like a death stare. More like a curious stare.” Momo explained.

Nayeon tuned Momo out, not willing to listen to her irrational ideas and assumptions. There would be no way that Sana would stare at her if it wasn’t to think of killing her or maiming her – which she was sure was on her mind. She didn’t even say thank you for the melon bread. And, she ignored her in all of the classes today.

“Yo, are you even listening to me?” Momo slapped Nayeon’s back, immediately regretting it as she received a threatening glare.

“What is it?” Nayeon crossed her arms.

“Why don’t you try and get to know her more? Maybe you guys will find that you don’t have so much that’s different from each other.”

“You think I’m not trying? It’s hard to even hold a proper conversation with her – how do you expect me to do that?”

“You’ll find a way – it shouldn’t be that hard.”

Nayeon contemplated Momo’s words, thinking deeply about what she could do that would get Sana to talk to her without glaring at her or making her move away. Surely, Sana eating the food she handed to her was a start, right? Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad?

She nervously bit on her nails as she thought about it. Nayeon wanted the two of them to be at least civil with each other. To have _one_ conversation at least that didn’t relate to hating her. And on that same note, she also had to figure out why Sana hated her so much. She’d have to contact her school cohort and she really wasn’t in the mood to do that yet when Nayeon just started college.

Her curiosity would have to be kept aside for now.

There were more important things to work on.

Momo was going off about something she’d heard in class when Nayeon overheard a conversation from someone nearby. She only got bits and pieces of it, but it was enough for her to get an idea of what she _could_ do.

**‘Too close’, ‘crossing boundaries’, ‘being infuriating’**

Nayeon clapped loudly and stood up all of a sudden, making Momo scream next to her from fright.

“What the hell?” Momo gasped, breathing heavily.

“I have the perfect plan!” Nayeon squealed, jumping up and down.

“For what?” Momo questioned.

“Getting Sana to talk. Or say anything. But it would be very costly to my ears and possible items I use.” Nayeon contemplated.

“Please don’t tell me you’re going to be pranking her or similar things like that.”

“It’s not really pranking. I don’t think I’d be able to think of anything if I were to participate in that.”

“Well, go on – I’m listening.”

“Sana values her space a lot, right? She always tells me to stay on my side and make sure that I’m not **crossing the line**. It would infuriate her, wouldn’t it? To see that an item of mine would be across the red tape – where it shouldn’t be.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Momo, _listen._ **The red tape.** Remember that Sana lined our dorm room with it? I could use it to my advantage. Use it to put Sana on edge – that would definitely make her talk to me.” Nayeon explained.

“But how would that make her talk to you? Wouldn’t it make her hate you even more?” Momo frowned.

“It is a possibility. I guess.”

“Why are you so adamant on changing her view of you?”

“Because I hate that she hates me. I hate that I don’t know why. I don’t remember doing anything.”

“So, doing this would be the only way? Your only solution?”

“If you have any other ideas, I’m all ears.”

“No, actually, I think it’s actually one of your best ideas.”

“What?”

“Yeah. You actually have a good idea – for once.”

“I’m not that bad at ideas!” Nayeon huffed.

“Mhmm. Sure thing.” Momo laughed, as the duo reached Nayeon’s dorm.

“… Stop being mean.” Nayeon whined, pinching Momo.

“Alright, alright. Good luck for your plan – let me know how it goes.” Momo shook her head, hugging Nayeon before moving to leave.

Nayeon nodded, waving goodbye to her best friend as she entered the room. Glad to see the absence of her roommate, she smirked as she thought of her plan rolling into motion. There was so much she could do and so much she wanted to do. By the time Sana would be back, **the red tape** would be useless. Rules would be abandoned and Nayeon would wait for Sana’s response to the chaos that would ensue.

This was the start of something new.

It was the **war of the red tape**.


	5. [fight fire with fire]

Nayeon was seated upright against the frame of her bed early in the morning. There was still time until Sana woke up so she could think things through. Despite the fact that Nayeon was having some second thoughts on whether or not she should go ahead with her plans of torturing Sana, she knew she couldn’t scrap it anymore. The girl would never say yes to having a proper conversation with her, even if her life depended on it.

Maybe her own plan was a bit extreme… no, Nayeon was overthinking this. It wouldn’t turn out to be so bad – she knew Sana wouldn’t just let things be.

She jumped out of bed first, washing up and getting ready for class. Nayeon nudged her sock over the red tape, letting most of it cross over to Sana’s side. Hiding a snicker, she quietly escaped the room, not willing to wait for the wrath of her roommate.

Walking quickly towards the courtyard, Nayeon finally spotted Momo, throwing an arm around her best friend and scaring her in the process.

“Why the hell are you walking around so quietly?!” Momo screeched, holding onto her heart.

“It’s been how many years and you still get scared when I sneak up on you? Shouldn’t you be used to this by now?” Nayeon scoffed. “What are you thinking about that has you in la la land?”

Momo’s hesitation piqued Nayeon’s interest and she turned to face her, observing her Japanese friend. Sporting a frown, Nayeon knew something was up and she elbowed her to gain her attention. Momo whined in pain, glaring at Nayeon.

“What?!” Momo growled.

“Why aren’t you responding?” Nayeon demanded.

“I’m just thinking. Anyway, why do you look so smug.” Momo diverted.

Nayeon hadn’t failed to realise that Momo was changing the topic, but she didn’t want to push it in the moment, knowing that she’d approach Nayeon when she was ready to talk.

“Hmm. The plan is in motion.” Nayeon smiled, brushing off invisible dirt from her shoulder.

“I’m not saying it will backfire. I’m certain it will backfire.” Momo rolled her eyes, leaning her back against Nayeon’s.

“If it backfires, maybe things will actually be _interesting_.” Nayeon shrugged.

“Oh, please. Did she have that much of an impact on you because she didn’t like you at first sight?” Momo chuckled.

“Hey! It’s not that at all!” Nayeon whined, slapping Momo’s back.

The duo bickered back and forth, neither of them being mature about the situation in hand – or _out of hand_. Eventually, Momo found the courage to talk about what has been bothering her all morning, clearing her throat to get Nayeon’s attention.

“So… I think I have a crush on my roommate.” Momo confessed.

“That’s what’s got you so worked up this morning? I thought we both accepted that when your mouth was opening and closing like a fish when you saw her walk in.” Nayeon teased.

“Nay!!” Momo whined, almost pushing Nayeon off the seat they were sitting on.

“Alright, what’s the problem? Just wait until you’re ready to confess it. Right now, don’t rush anything. Get to know her.” Nayeon suggested.

“Argh. This is so frustrating. It’s so hard to act normal around her.” Momo sulked, leaning her head against Nayeon’s shoulder.

Nayeon laughed, patting Momo’s head as she continued to whine about her crush on her roommate. She was sure her best friend will figure something out soon. And Nayeon was sure that Mina could _possibly_ like her after seeing Momo carry her suitcase like it weighed like nothing when she moved in. A high possibility. She already had a better love story than Nayeon could possibly even imagine of.

\---

Sana slammed her alarm as it blared, waking her up on time. She didn’t want there to be a repeat of her first day again. Mumbling incoherently, she threw off her blankets, sleepily walking to her bathroom. In her dazed walk, she failed to notice Nayeon’s mischievous present for Sana. Somehow, she completely missed it, not even slipping on the discarded item.

Finally waking up after being refreshed, Sana finally saw it. She knew something was up when she spotted the lone sock on her side of the red tape on the path to the kitchen. But, she was in no mood to approach Nayeon about it, letting it slide and throwing the filth back on her side. She had a class to go to – Nayeon wasn’t going to ruin her morning this time.

Mina met Sana outside her dorm room, greeting her with a brown paper bag that was definitely meant to be her breakfast. Rather than passing it to her, Mina shoved it into Sana’s chest, not waiting for her to walk with her. Now, why was this girl so moody this morning? Sana huffed as she struggled to walk faster to walk with Mina, finally getting into an arm’s reach with her best friend and pulling her back.

“Okay, there’s something clearly wrong. Why are you angry?” Sana asked in worry.

“Just a bad morning. Saw something I didn’t like. It’s fine.” Mina sighed heavily. Maybe seeing Momo being cuddly with Nayeon made her this way. She couldn’t help the feeling of anger bubble up inside her stomach when she saw the pair by a cafe on campus.

“Hmm. Whatever it is, things will get better. What if it was a misunderstanding? Don’t just look at your roommate and think she’s with someone.” Sana gathered.

Mina blushed furiously as Sana found out the reason for her grumpiness so fast. She’d only talked to Sana about Momo once. How did Sana immediately know she’d seen Momo this morning? She pushed Sana, groaning in annoyance.

“How did you know?” Mina grumbled.

“Please, you had starry eyes when you talked about her. It was like she was your world. And to think that you became like this because she lifted up some of your bags.” Sana snickered.

“Excuse me, she’s very nice too. She makes sure I eat and doesn’t put red tape in the middle of my dorm like some other lunatic.” Mina scoffed.

“Ouch!” Sana pretended, holding her heart.

Mina rolled her eyes, not able to understand why Sana was so stubborn about her situation with Nayeon. Did the word _maturity_ not exist in her dictionary? The past should be left behind.

“You’re such a brat. May god help Nayeon for having to deal with you.” Mina shook her head.

“She’s just that special.” Sana grinned, walking towards class.

\---

Okay, Sana was officially pissed.

Their dorm room was a mess and her annoying roommate was to blame.

Clothes everywhere, dishes in the sink, books and papers thrown around -  it looked like shit. What was her purpose? To ruin Sana’s life?

Over the past two weeks, their situation was getting worse. From a few items to a bloody mess. Sana’s patience no longer existed. Nayeon just piled more and more things to everything else and Sana would not tolerate it any longer.

And to top it all off, Nayeon was sleeping soundly in bed, while Sana had to deal with such a horrid sight. Hell no. She was going to clean up this mess _today_ and right now.

Stomping towards Nayeon’s bed, Sana contemplated what she could do to wake her up. A bucket of cold water would be nice but it would ruin the bed sheets. Smirking, she finally figured out a plan, pulling off Nayeon’s blankets, making her roll with it and consequently, making Nayeon hit their wooden flooring.

Nayeon groaned as she was awoken rudely from her dreams. She rubbed her back as she sat up, losing her sleep as soon as she saw the terrifying sight of her roommate glaring down at her. She could imagine the steam coming out of her ears and Nayeon gulped, preparing her body for what was to come.

“Get your ass up right now. The purpose of this red tape isn’t to throw your things around! Move your shit back in place before I set fire to everything.” Sana growled, kicking a pile of clothes out of her way.

Nayeon stumbled as she tried to get up, gathering her belongings. She couldn’t believe that her plan actually worked. Maybe the outcome was a little worse than she expected but Sana did warn her about what would happen if Nayeon crossed the line.

“All I get is a random wake up call?” Nayeon muttered.

“I did contemplate throwing a bucket of cold water on your face.” Sana responded nonchalantly. “I guess I can leave it for next time if it happens again.” She said as she walked out the door. “I better see the room tidy when I get back.”

\---

It was safe to say that Nayeon was going to die. She still hadn’t set the room, waiting for Sana to come home instead. It was basically suicide but hey, Sana finally said something to her. What’s the worst she could do if Nayeon hadn’t tidied the dorm room? The option of cold water was out of question.

As the key jingled outside their front door, Nayeon braced herself for what was to come. She wasn’t really prepared but her heart was beating rapidly at a crazy pace, deeply reflective of the chaos inside her mind.

Sana’s smile dropped as soon as she walked in, holding onto her keys tightly. She glared at Nayeon, not knowing what to do with the bratty girl. What was so hard about cleaning up?

“Seriously? I was gone for hours? What the hell have you been doing?!” Sana groaned, slamming her bag on the floor.

“That’s what it takes?” Nayeon moodily mumbled.

“What?” Sana whipped her head back to face Nayeon.

“It takes me causing a mess for you to talk to me.” Nayeon scoffed.

“So, this was a plan to get me to talk? What’s wrong with you?! All I wanted was a proper roommate who doesn’t cause a mess and doesn’t disturb me. But as soon I saw you, I knew that was impossible. From high school to now, nothing seemed to have changed. You’re still as infuriating as ever and I’m on a thin line between getting completely pissed and losing my mind as opposed to just keeping things at bay.” Sana ranted, catching Nayeon off guard.

“It would’ve been fine if you at least tried to acknowledge my presence but you pretend I don’t exist. I just want to move forward but you’re stuck in the past. I don’t know what I did, but I’m sorry. I can’t deal with this relationship between us. We’re roommates, not strangers.” Nayeon argued.

“You’re not exactly being mature about this, you know? Purposely triggering me won’t be beneficial. Keep doing this. Keep infuriating me because I’m at the point where I don’t care what you do. You throw something on my side, I’ll throw something on yours. Fight fire with fire.” Sana shrugged. “I told you that there would be consequences to crossing the line and you ignored them. You could’ve approached me in a civil way, but now you’ll regret it.” Sana smiled widely at Nayeon, effectively scaring the girl.

“That’s rich coming from you. You didn’t once seem like you wanted to be in a room with me.” Nayeon chuckled.

“Either way, you crossed the line. I told you not to when we first met. I ignored it for a whole week. But you remained childish and now you’ll suffer. So, good luck.” Sana shrugged. “You should be careful of everything around you, just a heads up.”

“And Approaching you?” Nayeon laughed. “If I come one step to close to you, you retreat immediately.” She pointed out as she moved closer to Sana, who moved back on instinct. “How do you expect me to talk to you when you really don’t want to?”

Sana glared at Nayeon as she towered over her. “A simple explanation would have been enough. I’m not satan. I have a heart. If you wanted forgiveness, I would’ve been open to listen to you.”

Nayeon remained flabbergasted as Sana pushed her away. She held her head in her hands, realising what a big problem she had on her hands.

She definitely miscalculated Sana’s courage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you can find me @likeuwuahh on twitter :)


	6. [i'm sure you're happy]

While Sana and Nayeon were having a war of their own, Momo and Mina were having their own crisis. Mina was consistently avoiding Momo with every chance that she had, which was heavily affecting Momo as a result.

Mina’s plan was that avoiding would mean less interactions and less interactions would mean less heart problems. She hadn’t considered that it could affect Momo. Maybe it was a little bit selfish but what else was she meant to do? Being around Momo just made her irrational and more awkward than ever because she spent more time ogling the girl than talking. Do you really blame her for not wanting to make a fool out of herself in front of her crush?

Usually welcomed by the sight of Momo on their couch, Mina walked into the dorm to see it empty. Or, what she thought was empty.

Momo was huddled in her bed, blankets covering her from head to toe. Seeing that she was asleep, Mina let her be, pulling out her laptop and working on an assignment. An hour into her work, she heard whimpering coming from Momo and Mina frowned, thinking that Momo was probably having a bad dream.

She approached her roommate, gently shaking her to wake her up. “Momo?”

Mina received no answer as Momo simply shrugged her hand off her. She had an unsettling feeling in her stomach. She didn’t want to pull the covers of the bed down, but she was also worried about Momo.

Stuck on what to do, she decided to risk it, pulling off Momo’s blankets and gasping. She was shivering terribly under, eyes shut tightly.

“Momo?!” Mina panicked, placing the back of her palm against her forehead. She pulled away quickly – it felt like she touched fire. “Why the hell have you been going to classes if you’re this sick?” She scolded.

Momo had the energy to chuckle and Mina would’ve slapped her if she wasn’t sick.

“This is nice.” Momo mumbled.

Mina was rendered speechless at Momo’s words. Who thinks being sick is nice? “Are you out of your mind? Maybe it’s the lack of sleep.”

“No. I mean, you not avoiding me.” Momo hoarsely spoke.

“What – I haven’t.” Mina tried to deny.

“Please. I know it.” Momo shook her head, trying to grab the blankets and cover herself again.

“Firstly, you’re not getting back in bed. You’re sick, get out of bed and go shower. And then you’re going to eat.” Mina demanded, holding onto the blankets.

“I just need rest.” Momo groaned.

“You need rest along with food and fluids. Which you’ve had none of. Get up.” Mina sighed, giving Momo her hand to sit up. She handed her an unopened bottle of water, making her drink more than a few sips.

“There’s no food.” Momo pointed out.

“I’ll make something. You just go shower and wash up please.” Mina sighed, helping Momo out of the bed. “Do you need me to help you shower?”

Momo blushed profusely at the suggestion, shaking her head immediately as Mina chuckled at her reaction.

“Alright. Go now. I’ll make something simple for you when you get out.” Mina nodded, basically pushing Momo inside the bathroom.

As soon as the door shut, Mina called up her mother, asking her for a recipe she could make quickly. Of course, she was teased endlessly about it first and Mina was glad that her mother couldn’t see how deeply she was blushing at what she was implying.

“Ma, just tell me something quickly. If it’s Japanese, it can work as well because my roommate is Japanese too.” Mina whined.

“Alright sweetie. I’m sure she’s beautiful if she has you cooking for her.” Her mother teased. After hearing another whine from Mina, she laughed, finally giving her daughter a simple recipe her own mother had taught her.

“Thanks Ma! Love you!” Mina farewelled, ending the call.

By the time Momo was done with her shower, Mina was finishing off her cooking. Momo froze upon the sight in front of her. Mina stood with her tied up in a ponytail and an apron tied around her waist. It was clear that she was concentrating deeply, tongue sticking out of her mouth as she scooped out the deliciously smelling soup into two bowls.

“Momo – oh, you’re done. Come sit. Finish the soup, I’ll get your medicine.” Mina pointed to the table.

Mina was about to walk away but Momo gripped her wrist, pulling her back down. “You eat too. Unless you don’t want to eat the soup for sick people.”

Contemplating for a moment, Mina nodded, sitting next to Momo who was now grinning like a fool. She couldn’t complain about the treatment – she was getting pampered by Mina, really.

“Thank you.” Momo ducked her head as she blushed. Sure, she still felt like she was going to collapse if she hit the bed, but it was a lot better than before and Mina was to thank for that.

“… I’m sorry too. You were right about me avoiding you.” Mina mumbled. “I was just having a difficult time being around you.”

Momo was caught off-guard by Mina’s confession, not expecting to hear it. “Uh, I’m sorry you felt like that around me. I must have overstepped my boundaries.”

“No! It’s not that!” Mina was quick to deny. “There’s an explanation…”

\---

Nayeon was regretting her actions. She really was. She never thought that Sana would be true to her words and fight back as much as Nayeon. For each thing Nayeon did to annoy Sana, she responded to it twice as badly and it affected Nayeon immensely.

Like the fact that Nayeon used the entire washing line for her clothing. In return, Sana would eat all of Nayeon’s snacks.

That may not sound like it’s equivalent, but to Nayeon, it was. Her snacks means more to her than her life – especially because she went out of her way to buy them from her favourite grocery shop. And Sana taking them, not because she liked them, but because she wanted revenge, left a salty aftertaste in her own mouth. Saltier than her favourite chips. She didn’t know how Sana knew about her love for her snacks, but Nayeon was furious with how she figured it out.

That was one thing; this whole experience opened Nayeon’s eyes. Sana truly was one of the top pranksters to exist.

For every dirty sock that Nayeon threw over to her side, Sana returned the action with leaving toothpaste filled Oreos on the counter. And come on – don’t judge Nayeon for that. If you see Oreos on the counter, wouldn’t you be tempted to eat it? Especially if you’ve just had a long day at college. You really can’t blame Nayeon.

And also, for leaving bowls in the sink on Sana’s side, Sana left the toilet paper roll empty in their bathroom – meaning that Nayeon had to do the walk of shame to grab one from their cupboard outside their room.

There’s also been the ice filled ice-cream tub – which Nayeon wanted to eat after a bad exam. There was also the caramelised apple that Sana offered, which was actually an onion – Nayeon regretted that one the most because she had no idea what made her _trust_ Sana to offer her food.

And the most recent one was waking Nayeon up with a bloody airhorn that made her fall off the bed. She had a golf ball sized bruise on her ribs from banging onto the corner of her bedside cabinet.

It had gone from simply crossing the red tape, to pranking each other and Nayeon had actually been defeated. She couldn’t believe that she’d been beaten – by her satanic roommate. And, she had no more ideas of what she could do anymore either. Her stupidity cost her more than she expected.

Walking back to her dorm, Nayeon had no thought of crossing the red tape anymore. Not that she didn’t want to do something, it was because she had a deadline for the night that she needed to focus on, rather than waste it trying to prank Sana.

Thankfully, her roommate wasn’t in the room when Nayeon walked in. She headed straight for her computer, throwing her bag down and getting started on her assignment. This is exactly why you shouldn’t leave assignments to the last day (but still, Nayeon would never really do it earlier).

Nayeon was so deep into her work, that she hadn’t even realised that Sana had arrived back into the dorm. She was eyeing Nayeon with suspicion – seeing that there was nothing mischievous done by the girl. Deciding not to disturb Nayeon, Sana went off to do her readings for the next class instead, not wanting to fall behind on the content for the lessons.

Three long and awkward hours later, Nayeon basically ran out of the dorm, managing to get to the printing room before it closed. With a sigh of relief, Nayeon hugged her assignment, glad she got it done on time. She only had to submit the printed version of the work the next morning before class started. There would be no issue with that anyway so Nayeon could relax for now. Walking back to the dorm, Nayeon contemplated checking up on Momo first, realising she hadn’t talked to her all day but once she had a look at the time, she bolted back into her room, heading to bed.

Unknown to her, Sana was still awake when she returned. She, herself, was formulating a final plan for a prank on Nayeon. After this, there wasn’t going to be anymore. Nayeon had stopped hers, so it was only fair that Sana did the same… after tonight. She chuckled to herself as she went through with her prank, hoping it would work.

\---

When Nayeon’s feet hit the floor in the morning, her sleep was immediately gone from her system. She’d kicked down a glass of water, surrounding about twenty others, that had gone all the way down to her pile of clothes on the floor by her chair.

“No, no, no!” Nayeon panicked, rushing to pick up her assignment papers that she’d left on the floor by her bag.

Sana was watching her with amusement from the kitchen, crossing her arms across her chest as she took a bite of her toast. A laugh escaped her lips and Nayeon turned to glare at her.

“Seriously? I didn’t do anything to you? What the hell did you do that for?” Nayeon glowered.

She struggled to air out the wet papers, looking at the time and realising she only had a few minutes until she was meant to put it through. So, not only had she tipped down water on her assignment, she slept through her alarm which she couldn’t find anywhere.

“Did you take my phone?” Nayeon questioned Sana, who only responded with a shrug of her shoulders.

Nayeon was on the border between crying and getting furious with Sana. This assignment wasn’t just a small one – it was heavily assessed and it could affect her final results. She panicked, not knowing what to do anymore. There was no way she’d be able to get her work in on time with a set of papers like this.

“I can’t believe you. I really can’t believe you. I did nothing. And yet you still acted like this.” Nayeon muttered over and over again, sitting on her bed with her head in her hands.

Sana stopped eating upon the sight, walking towards Nayeon instead. Was she crying? Her shoulders were shaking. She glanced over at the wet papers next to Nayeon, gasping when she realised her mistake. Guilt immediately ate at her as she realised the weight of the situation. Sana stood silently, knowing no amount of apologies could fix the situation.

“I’m sure you’re happy.” Nayeon growled, storming out the room.

No, Sana was not.

She could have possibly, single-handedly, caused Nayeon to fail this subject.

And, if she failed, not only would she be repeating a year, she’d be subject to harsh scrutiny from Board of Arts – who would be watching her for the rest of her studies.

She would fix this.

She had to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> @likeuwuahh on twitter :)


	7. [dumbass - i don't have your number]

In a panicked state, Sana rushed to their subject convenor to talk about the ill fate. She’d take full blame for the mistake – it was all her fault anyway. She hoped that their convenor would be understanding enough to let the issue go. Sana knocked on the door of their convenor’s office, nervousness building up in her veins.

A fairly young woman opened the door, catching Sana off-guard.

“I was looking for Ms Yoo?” Sana asked.

“That’s me. Yoo Jeongyeon.” The woman answered. “Are you here about the assignments? There is no way I can let you submit anything later than the due date.”

“I have a justified reason! Please just listen. It’s not my assignment, it’s my roommate’s.” Sana pleaded.

Surprised by the girl, the convenor nodded, letting her explain. “If it’s your roommate’s assignment, why are you the one who’s here?”

“Because I caused an accident this morning and I’m the reason she couldn’t submit her assignment.” Sana guiltily confessed.

“What was the issue?” Jeongyeon looked over at the mess of paper in Sana’s hand.

“I soaked her assignment papers and she couldn’t submit them on time.” Sana showed her convenor the papers.

“Tell her that she until the end of the day to put her papers in. Write her name down here too.” Jeongyeon sighed, pointing to a post-it note. “I know there’s more to the situation but I won’t push it. Now, hurry back to class. You guys will be split into group work today.”

Thanking her convenor once more, Sana nodded, bolting out of her room towards her class. The class would already have started – she was fifteen minutes late. Taking a deep breath as she arrived outside her class, Sana knocked, apologising to her teacher.

“We’ve already sorted out groups. Hands up if you don’t have enough people in your group?” The teacher asked as she looked at the class. There was one group that had one less member – it made sense now, since Sana wasn’t there.

“Right. Jihyo, Nayeon and Lena. You have room for one more member. Sana will join your group.” The teacher announced, ushering Sana to the group of three.

Sana cursed her luck as she walked towards them, Nayeon was avoiding eye contact while the other two offered a friendly smile.

“Welcome to the group.” Jihyo cheerily greeted, pulling Lena by her side and leaving Sana to stand by Nayeon.

“Is there a chance I can swap with another group.” Nayeon shot up, asking her teacher.

_Ouch._

“Sorry Nayeon. This will be your group for the rest of the semester. You’ll be sub-grouped in your bigger groups for two aspects. One for recording and editing and one for acting and this will switch after each assignment. By the end of the semester, there should be two videos completed. The script list will be uploaded onto the forum and you’ll be able to choose one script for each video.” The teacher informed, earning a scoff from Nayeon.

“I know we’re probably not your best choices–”

“Please, Jihyo – you two are fine.” Nayeon shot down Jihyo’s self-depreciation. “Just some other factors.”

Sana remained silent, knowing completely well that Nayeon was referring to herself.

“…Right. For sub-groups, I think I’ll work with Lena, we know each other well. Would that be an issue?” Jihyo asked.

“No!” Sana responded before Nayeon had a chance to reject. “I think it’s a great idea to be partnered with someone you know. It makes the assignment work run smoothly.”

“If you’re not that acquainted with each other, I have an idea. Mid-semester break is coming up soon and I think that’s a great time to get to know each other. A trip can always form friendships. And we can start recording and acting then too.” Lena suggested.

“Or ruin them.” Nayeon grumbled.

“Lena! That’s brilliant! We can talk about it after class? A Facebook chat would work, right?” Jihyo enthusiastically questioned.

“Sure. Just add us all.” Nayeon nodded, typing in her name as Jihyo passed her phone over.

“Sounds lovely. If you have any suggestions for locations, pop them in the chat and we’ll have a look.” Lena encouraged.

As class was dismissed, Nayeon was quick to leave the room, not wanting to be around Sana for longer than she already had to deal with in the dorm. But, luck wasn’t on her side as Sana caught up to her, pulling on the sleeve of her shirt.

“I know you don’t want to talk to me right now so I’m just going to quickly say that the convenor wants you to put your physical copy of your assignment in by the end of the night.” Sana rapidly informed, letting go of Nayeon who was left in a mix of feelings.

Sana had helped her and talked to their convenor.

After ruining her work.

With a heavy sigh, Nayeon walked back to her dorm to reprint her work. She didn’t know how to take in everything that happened today. First, her assignment was ruined, then she got put with Sana for an assignment – which doubled her anger from the morning, then Jihyo planned a trip for the four of them for the assignment and now Sana came to her and told her she can submit her assignment after talking to the convenor. Should she be angry at Sana? Why was she not angry at Sana?

As soon as she’d approached Nayeon and told her that she talked to the convenor, it was as if the anger just dissipated into thin air. She was raging mad in the morning, even screaming at Momo which was uncalled for; she still had to apologise to her. It was clear though, that Sana wanted to fix things as soon as she could – probably was why she was most likely late to class as well. _Maybe_ Nayeon could give her a thank you.

\---

Momo grumbled as she opened the door to her room after much persistent knocking. She was in a bad mood after Nayeon went off at her this morning for no apparent reason. And instead of apologising, Nayeon simply went to class. The least she could’ve done was explain what had put her in such a mood – Momo wasn’t that bad to talk to about these things.

Speaking of the devil.

Nayeon stood outside Momo’s room, a bag of takeaway boxes in one hand, while the other contained a tub of ice-cream. She struggled not to smile at Nayeon’s attempt to apologise.

“Really?” Momo raised an eyebrow at her best friend.

“I’m sorry. I had a bad morning.” Nayeon explained.

“Uh-huh.” Momo rolled her eyes, taking the bags off Nayeon. “Let me guess – it’s related to Sana.”

“Not everything I talk about is about Sana.” Nayeon mumbled.

“Oh, yeah? But anything negative is always related to Sana.” Momo laughed, earning a shove from Nayeon.

“Shut it.” Nayeon groaned, collapsing on Momo’s couch. “Are you feeling better too?”

“Huh? Yeah, of course.” Momo grinned.

“Don’t give me that lovesick look – I don’t know how Mina can stay blind to your googly eyes. Did she take care of you?” Nayeon asked as she switched on the television.

Momo chuckled as she opened the takeaway boxes, plating their food. She left a box for Mina, knowing she’d want to eat it after her long day of classes.

“Mhmm. She cooked for me and made sure I took my meds. Then we had a long chat about why she was avoiding me. A conversation that was held back for too long.” Momo nodded as she brought Nayeon her food.

“Now it’s understandable why you’re grinning like a kid who got their favourite toy on Christmas. I can’t imagine what you’d be like _if_ you do get together.” Nayeon exaggeratedly pretended to puke.

“You’re just jealous.” Momo teased, sitting on the couch next to Nayeon.

Momo received no response from Nayeon and thought she’d made her best friend annoyed at her comment. But, as she turned to face her, Nayeon was in deep thought, as if she was contemplating what Momo had just said.

“Maybe I’m just not fated.” Nayeon frowned as she thought about it.

“Hello? Where’s Nayeon?” Momo snickered, knocking on Nayeon’s head. “Since when do you think about these things so deeply? We literally just graduated from high school, no one is going to land on your lap and miraculously become your wife.”

“Jesus, Momo. Who said I wanted a wife!” Nayeon gasped, smacking her best friend countless times for her words.

“Hey! Stop hitting me!” Momo groaned, trying to get Nayeon’s hands off her.

The door to the room opened and the duo froze, Momo pushing Nayeon off and make her fall to the ground with a loud thud.

“What the hell Momo?” Nayeon whined, rubbing her back.

“Hi Mina!” Momo greeted her roommate, who was eyeing both girls with suspicion.

“What’s going on here?” Mina asked.

“Ah, just dinner.” Nayeon explained. “And some talking.”

“Your food is on the counter.” Momo smiled at Mina, making her blush.

“You left food for Mina? Since when do you leave food for anyone?” Nayeon guffawed, shocked by Momo’s actions.

Momo glared at Nayeon, poking her in the ribs to get her to shut up. “Nayeon was actually just leaving.”

“What–”

“See you later Nayeon. Don’t you need to hand in your assignment?” Momo cut Nayeon off, pushing her out the door.

Mina hid her laughter at the way Momo was acting, shaking her head at the pair. She picked up the box that was left on the counter, digging in immediately.

Momo remembered what she liked.

\---

Completely shocked by Momo’s treatment, Nayeon scowled at her best friend before she left to print out her work. It was definitely clear that Momo was whipped for Mina now that she even offered her food that was for herself.

Nayeon could finally let out a sigh of relief as she pushed her papers through for submission in their Arts Office. Her heart could take a break for now – maybe a week? The next set of assignments would be rolling in soon anyway. Her schedule was jam-packed now, with three more tasks to do – including the first shooting with Jihyo and Lena.

It never really ends – that’s the only think Nayeon could think about as she walked back to her dorm room. The assignments will finish this month, then there would a little break for a few weeks before it’s exam time and the stress will pile up all over again. And this happens every single semester until they graduate – possibly getting worse by year.

So deep in her thoughts, Nayeon reached her room quicker than she expected. As she pulled out her keys from her backpack, she staggered on her spot as she saw a sleeping Sana against their door. _What the hell?_ Nayeon panicked as she saw her roommate, quick to kneel down and check on her. She was ice-cold but asleep? What was she thinking by going to sleep outside their bloody door.

“Sana? Wake up.” Nayeon shook her.

She whined, but awoke, mumbling something about being locked out.

“Why are you outside? Not even sitting, but asleep.” Nayeon scolded, opening their door. Anything could’ve happened to her – terrible things could’ve happened.

“My keys are inside.” Sana murmured sleepily.

“Why didn’t you message me?” Nayeon frowned, pulling Sana up.

“Dumbass, I don’t have your number.” Sana retorted.

Oh, right. Well – that wasn’t really Nayeon’s fault, was it?

“Why didn’t you ask Mina to help you out?” Nayeon questioned.

“You’re asking too many questions. Shhh.” Sana placed her finger on Nayeon’s lips, silencing her.

Nayeon turned red as Sana’s touch lingered on her lips. Carefully, she guided Sana to her bed, pulling her covers over her.

“What is going on with everything today?” Nayeon asked herself as she looked upon Sana’s sleeping figure.

At least, she was in bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> really hope you guys are liking this story!!
> 
> @likeuwuahh on twitter :)


	8. [it's just breakfast]

Sana was wide awake in her bed, but refused to get up, knowing that Nayeon was still asleep. The memories of last night were slowly popping back from memory and the embarrassment was creeping in. Just when were things going to be okay between them? First it was Sana’s anger towards Nayeon, then it was Nayeon’s anger towards Sana and now it was going to be awkward because of what happened last night.

On the topic of Sana being angry at Nayeon, she talked to Mina again about her feelings. The past is the past and it would be wise for Sana to leave it there – that’s what Mina had told her. And Sana was really trying. She tried to keep the ill feelings out of her heart. It worked momentarily and had given Sana the courage to apologise for her own mistakes and playful attitude. But the past was an itch that Sana couldn’t ignore.

Actually, Sana wanted to talk to Nayeon about everything and get it all off her chest. But, with impending assignments, there were bigger things to focus on. It would only be a distraction to the assignments coming up and they two of them had to get them done on time. 

Groaning and kicking her legs around, Sana shoved her face deeper into her pillow, feeling so lost on what she should do.

The sound of muffled laughter made Sana freeze, and she turned around to face her roommate, who was hovering by her bed.

“W-what are you doing here?” Sana stuttered, pulling the blankets closer to her body.

“That’s not a nice way to react when I saved you from staying out in the cold yesterday.” Nayeon clucked her tongue, moving away.

“Y-yeah right. Why would you leave me outside?” Sana stammered.

“Are you really asking me that?” Nayeon raised an eyebrow at Sana.

The pranks weren’t that bad, okay? It was just that last one that made a mess of the whole situation. You can’t hate Sana for what she did. She even apologised and met their convenor.

“I apologised.” Sana huffed, crossing her arms.

“Really? I don’t remember. All you did was approach me and tell me to submit my work.” Nayeon smirked smugly.

Sana pondered for a moment, recalling when she ran up to Nayeon after class. Had she really forgotten to apologise in the rush of things?

Curse her short memory, she really couldn’t remember.

“You say sorry first.” Sana shook her head.

“I’m not the one who ruined a major assignment.” Nayeon accused. “That was all you.”

After a few minutes of silence, Nayeon’s patience grew thin, buckling first and apologising. “Fine. I’m sorry.”

Sana smiled, stretching and bolting to the bathroom.

“Hey! You’re meant to apologise first you brat!” Nayeon shouted, unable to catch Sana in time.

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry!” Sana giggled from the bathroom, making Nayeon shake her head.

\---

When Sana came out of the bathroom, Nayeon had left the dorm room and she automatically pouted at the disappearance. She couldn’t tease Nayeon any longer. She reached the kitchen and then noticed the note on the fridge, written in Nayeon’s scribbly and messy handwriting. So, she just went to give something to her friend? Maybe Sana could sort out breakfast before Nayeon came back. A peace offering of some sort?

Half an hour later, Sana had organised the table with plenty of food... takeaway food. Sana can’t really cook on her life. And, if she did, she’d probably  burn down the kitchen along with the good.

The door opened and Sana smiled as Nayeon walked in, cautiously heading towards the table.

“What’s this?” Nayeon eyed everything with suspicion.

“It’s just breakfast.” Sana answered, eyes shining brightly in excitement.

“Do those burgers have something like expired cheese or something in them?” Nayeon asked, pulling on the bun.

“It’s a normal burger.” Sana rolled her eyes.

“And those baked beans are just regular uncooked beans with sauce?” Nayeon grimaced as she looked at the bowl.

“Everything here is food!” Sana groaned as Nayeon continued to check on the food on the table.

“You’re being talkative this morning. And let’s not forget that you gave me toothpaste filled Oreos and a caramelized onion which you changed, just to make it look like an apple. Forgive me for being careful.” Nayeon grumbled.

Okay, that was a fair point to be cautious of what food you eat.

“I promise everything here is food.” Sana indicated to the table.

“Why the sudden gesture?” Nayeon questioned, suspicion still lingering.  


“My official apology and also a thank you for last night. It means a lot.” Sana said with sincerity.

“Okay, but you eat first.” Nayeon pushed.

“Hey! I’m being truthful here!” Sana whined, earning a chuckle from Nayeon.

“Come on. Eat a bite of the burger and a scoop of baked beans. I don’t want to die at an early age.” Nayeon waited for Sana to eat.

“All of this is store bought anyway.” Sana reasoned as she began eating.

“Oh, I’m not surprised that you can’t cook.” Nayeon savagely commented.

Flustered with the constant pestering and teasing, Sana shut her mouth, shoving it with food instead. She’d show Nayeon that she could cook. She really would. And she’d show it soon. Screw that girl and her negativity.

\---

Too soon.

It was later in the day when the east side of the college was evacuated from classes, a fire alarm sounding out and the students being led out to the grass field. Smoke billowed out from one dorm rooms, the crowd murmuring about the incident. Amongst the crowd, two students sighed heavily, one filled with embarrassment. They both knew which room it was from, how could they not be able to spot their best friends' dorm room?  


Mina and Momo looked at each other before shaking their heads in disappointment. What were their friends even doing? Did their pranks get out of hand? Momo had told Nayeon not to go so far with her plans and she'd warned her about it backfiring.  


Or maybe Nayeon set fire to something of Sana's to take revenge for the assignment issue she had! Momo was a pure genius.

“At least the whole building didn’t burn down.” Momo shrugged.

“I’m betting it’s Sana’s fault. She asked me for a recipe after lunch.” Mina groaned in shame.

Okay, erase the theory about revenge for the assignment. Momo was not a pure genius, but still a genius. 

“It’s probably just a pot of burnt food. Nothing more.” Momo chuckled.

“... Yeah, Sana just messaged me. She’s headed for a meeting with the secretary.” Mina showed the messages to Momo.  


See? Genius Momo.

\---

Sana hung her head in shame as she followed the secretary, a grouchy Nayeon by her side. She was called in when she was out for lunch, so it was understandable that she was cranky.

“Why exactly are we going to have a talk with the secretary in her office?” Nayeon whispered to Sana.

So, Nayeon might not know about the fact that Sana almost burnt down their entire room. It’s not like Sana was going to announce it to the world, really. She also knew that Nayeon would tease her once she knew – Sana was waiting for the ball to drop.

“Um.” Sana responded, unable to explain.

“Please, have a seat.” The secretary smiled at the duo, scaring the crap out of Sana. “The chancellor will be here soon.”

That was enough to give both of them the shock of their lives. Were they about to be kicked out of the dorms?

“Sana? What did you do?” Nayeon gasped, turning to Sana.

“Shut up.” Sana growled.

Before Nayeon could say anything else, the chancellor walked in and both of them stood up out of respect.

“Oh, please. There’s no need for that. And you don’t have to be scared either. You’re not getting kicked out of the dorms.” The chancellor comforted. “Regarding the incident that happened today, we’re just letting you know that it’s okay. Mistakes happen. Just be careful in the future. We got rid of the evidence of whatever you were trying to do, so cheer up. No harm done.”

“Thank you.” Sana nodded frantically.

“Did you kill someone and hide the body in the dorm?” Nayeon teased.

“What if I said yes?” Sana retorted, silencing Nayeon.

“What were you even trying to do, if I may ask, Miss Minatozaki?” The chancellor asked.

“I was just trying to prove someone wrong.” Sana pouted.

“Well, less self-proving in the future then. Stay away from the stove for now, okay?” The chancellor laughed, making Sana blush.

Finally understanding what went on, Nayeon couldn’t help but laugh too. Sana was trying to prove herself to Nayeon and burnt the food in the process. How brilliant!

“If you don’t shut up, I’ll smack you.” Sana whispered, threatening her roommate.

Nayeon nodded, covering her mouth with her hand as Sana turned red from anger.

“I hope to not hear any more incidents for at least the end of the semester, Miss Minatozaki. Please don’t hurt yourself.” The chancellor kindly pleaded, guiding the pair out of the room.

As soon as they left, Nayeon erupted in laughter, failing to see the glare on Sana’s face. “Oh my god, you really got the chancellor involved.”

Sana didn’t hesitate further, stepping on Nayeon’s foot with all her strength. Nayeon’s laughter turned into howls of pain as she hopped around.

“Ouch, ouch, that bloody hurt!” Nayeon whined, holding onto her foot.

“Good.” Sana growled, walking back to their dorm room.

Nayeon sighed as Sana walked away, hobbling towards their room with her painful foot. Sana may look small but her strength should never be underestimated. It took her ten minutes to walk the distance when it would usually take only three.

She opened the dorm door slowly, scared of Sana’s possible anger towards her. Okay, maybe her laughter was a _little_ bit too much.

Instead of Sana jump scaring her or throwing something at her head, Nayeon’s roommate was sitting atop her bed, knees up to her chest.

Nayeon felt her chest hurt upon the sight of Sana in that position – especially because she was the one to make her feel that way.

_Stupid Nayeon._

She could only condemn herself for her own actions. Of course, Sana had tried her best to prove to Nayeon that she could cook; but Nayeon had only laughed at her and the outcome of her efforts. That was the most insensitive thing she could have ever done to someone who tried their best.

“Sana. I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t consider your feelings.” Nayeon apologised.

“Mhmm.” Sana hummed, not saying anything else.

“Sana.” Nayeon called out, towering over the girl.

No response.

“Sana.” Nayeon tried again, this time crouching in front of her.

Again, no response.

“Hey.” Nayeon poked Sana’s shoulder. “Sanaaa.” She continued to call out Sana’s name as she poked and prodded, eventually earning a squeal out of her as Nayeon reached her ribs.

“Oh my god, just stop!!” Sana whined as Nayeon moved to tickle her now.

“You finally responded!” Nayeon gasped, Sana shoving her back and making her land on her butt.

“What do you want?” Sana groaned.

“I want to know something. Why did you even try cooking?” Nayeon asked.

Despite being glared at by Sana, Nayeon pursued the answer to her question. "I'm curious. I'll tickle you again if you don't stop glaring."  


“Okay, don't go there... It’s just because you said I couldn't do it. I wanted to prove you wrong; that I can do it.” Sana admitted, crossing her arms.

Nayeon shook her head, biting back a smile at how much Sana wanted to do everything just so that she could rub it in her face. It was kind of cute, seeing Sana try to explain herself right now.

“I tease you about all these things, but you don’t have to take them seriously. ” Nayeon discouraged. 

“You challenged me, okay? Well, it sounded like a challenge to me.” Sana pursed her lips, redness spreading over her cheeks.

Nayeon grumbled, unsure of what to say to change Sana’s mind. Her own words weren’t meant to push Sana to burn down the kitchen or to beat her in pranking. It was meant to be... more like playful banter? She was just looking for a reaction from Sana that didn't end up with them fighting or arguing.

She wanted to be more than enemies, for a start.

So, with that in mind, she chose her next words carefully and spoke them with true sincerity.

“From now on, I want you to know that you don’t have to prove anything to me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> @likeuwuahh on twitter


	9. [i think you can let go of me now]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the really late update!!

The two of them sat in pin drop silence after Nayeon’s words, neither of them saying a single thing. Sana didn’t know how to respond to what Nayeon had said and Nayeon wanted Sana to say something at least.

“Uh, I’ll try.” Sana responded.

“No! No trying. I don’t want to come back here someday to see the room on fire.” Nayeon firmly denied, shaking her head.

“Are you ever going to let that go?” Sana whined, hiding her face in her hands from embarrassment.

“Who knows? It’s fun teasing you about it.” Nayeon shrugged, sitting back on her bed.

Sana pouted, but did not show any other reaction, crossing her arms as she observed Nayeon from a distance.

Was this a step in the right direction? Not really being enemies anymore… more like friends? She felt like it was the right thing.

Really, you wouldn’t have caught her saying that she’s friends with Im Nayeon at the start of the semester but look how far they’d already come. It was definitely a nice feeling, and less stressful too. Had it gone on for longer, Sana wouldn’t know what would have happened.

Also, mid-semester was just around the corner and their secretary did tell them that availabilities would increase for room changes once it hits that time.

But, maybe she’d be able to room with Nayeon without any problems or complaints. Things were liveable between the duo.

_That’s what you call character development._

“Hey, did you start on the film analysis assignment already? The one due in a few weeks?” Nayeon asked, pulling Sana out of her thoughts.

“Huh? Nayeon, that’s like a month away. Why are you worrying about that now?” Sana frowned.

“It’s worth half of the unit weighting – I didn’t want to leave it until last minute.” Nayeon sheepishly admitted, focusing on her laptop to avoid looking at Sana.

Oddly, Sana found that sight really adorable, shaking her head as she realised where her train of thoughts were taking her. She understood Nayeon’s attempt to evade being embarrassed and didn’t let her suffer for long. “Let me have a look.”

Nayeon grumbled but let Sana sit next to her on the bed, watching her put her glasses on. She found it interesting how Sana scrunched up her nose to adjust to what she was looking at. Okay, it was cute – but you didn’t hear that from Nayeon.

“Let’s see what we’re working with.” Sana mumbled to herself as she browsed through the assignment criteria. “Are you having troubles with something in specific?”

“Just with the instructions. It says to show evidence of watching the movie but we can’t get movie tickets for older movies.” Nayeon frowned.

“But who said it had to be movie tickets? Just take a photo of the DVD case or the title screen?” Sana pointed out, making Nayeon realise her lack of broad thinking.

“Oh.”

“I think you might have been overthinking that one.” Sana chuckled, patting Nayeon’s shoulder.

Sana was moving away when Nayeon realised that she might as well ask her about her opinion for the rest of her assignment. God knows what else she would’ve been overthinking about while reading the instructions for the torturous assignment.

“Wait, I have more questions.” Nayeon pulled on Sana’s hand, making her fall back on the bed.

“All this time I’m spending with you, without anything in return? That’s not really fair now, is it?” Sana raised her eyebrow at Nayeon teasingly, flustering the girl. Sana looked down to where Nayeon was holding her hand, Nayeon following her gaze and gasping as she let go.

“Sorry…”

“I’m just kidding. I’ll help out, for _free_.” Sana emphasised, chuckling as she looked over their assignment.

Nayeon mumbled under her breath but had no witty comeback for Sana’s words, keeping her mouth shut. There was nothing she could say, without it backfiring on her, she knew it. Instead, she browsed over to where Nayeon had her next set of questions. It was really useful having Sana as a roommate; Nayeon was grateful.

The duo dived straight into the assignment, Sana breaking it down as much as she could for Nayeon to understand. By the time they’d finished discussing it, hours had gone by, much to the surprise of them both.

They managed to talk to each other without provoking or teasing – what a miracle.

“Did we really–?” Sana gasped exaggeratedly, earning an eye roll from Nayeon.

“Only because the true instigator was distracted – which is you.” Nayeon snickered, getting off the bed to grab two cans of grape soda out of the fridge.

“You just have that kind of face, you know?” Sana teased.

“What? My face is beautiful.” Nayeon mumbled.

“Uh-huh. It actually is.” Sana replied sincerely, making Nayeon choke on her drink.

Sana watched her with a teasing glint in her eyes as she opened the can of grape soda that Nayeon brought to her.

“Clearly, you aren’t thinking properly.” Nayeon commented, taken off-guard completely by Sana’s compliment.

Sana chuckled at Nayeon’s demise, finding her rejection of her own compliment quite amusing. Admittedly, Nayeon _is_ pretty. In Sana’s opinion, she was probably one of the prettiest girls in their course at least. It’s just that Sana preferred not to focus on that when she was busy trying to prank her and get revenge… which is no longer important.

She wanted to be a bigger person than she had showed herself as when they met and that would start from not holding a grudge about the past. Well, not a big grudge. Maybe a tiny one?

A pillow to the face was what brought Sana out of her thoughts, glaring at Nayeon.

“You know, you daze out and think about things way too often.” Nayeon crossed her arms. “I’ve been calling you for a whole minute.”

“For what? I have no energy to explain any other assignments.” Sana shook her head.

“It’s late. Let me take you out for dinner.” Nayeon suggested, Sana’s ears perking up at the offer.

“Really?!” Sana responded with excitement.

“I won’t be risking cooking in the dorm after your mishaps so let me take you out instead. Just to thank you for the assignment help. And I think we might as well get a bit more civil before we leave for the trip.” Nayeon explained.

“You just had to go back to that _again,_ didn’t you?” Sana sulked. “And… I think we’re pretty civil now. Not arguing for hours even while sitting next to each other? Agreeing on points?”

“Hmm… I think there’s a start. Who knows, maybe you have ice pick under your bed to kill me.” Nayeon muttered.

“Did you just… use a rated movie plot as an excuse?” Sana questioned as she pulled on her jacket.

“Well, you’ve clearly watched it too – since you knew where it was from.” Nayeon smirked, grabbing her keys and leaving a flustered Sana behind.

“I don’t think an ice pick would be my choice of weapon anyway.” Sana shouted, slapping her hand over her mouth when she realised it could be taken weirdly by others around their room.

She chased after her roommate, hiding her face as she received strange looks from others who stayed in the dorm with them.

Nayeon smiled at her flustered reaction, shaking her head as Sana walked blindly ahead of her. That girl was really not looking at where she was heading – she was going to bump into something, or _someone_.

With hurried steps, Nayeon chased after Sana, who was just about to bump into one of the tallest girls of their dorms. Not only was she tall, she was always angry and annoyed, meaning that Sana would suffer from her wrath if she even touched her. Nayeon had managed to pull Sana out of the girl’s way, but her right arm had brushed along her arm. The duo panicked as the girl turned to face them, Sana inching backwards slowly with Nayeon’s arm wrapped around her waist.

Out of instinct, Nayeon pushed Sana behind her, clearing her throat as she felt the girl come even closer. She closed her eyes as her face came nearer, bracing herself for what was to come.

“Tzuyu? Please tell me you’re not tormenting someone again?” A soft voice made Nayeon open her eyes.

Tzuyu, Nayeon guessed, was this tall tower in front of her. Well, she didn’t seem to be as scary as the girl was blushing like a red tomato with someone hugging her from the back.

“Hi! I’m Dahyun. Sorry about her, she gets a little bit intimidating sometimes.” The smaller girl greeted, offering her hand for a shake and smiling widely.

Tzuyu growled at the introduction, but one look from Dahyun had her huffing in defeat.

“Oh – uh, nice to meet you Dahyun. I’m Nayeon. We were just heading off somewhere but my friend here, Sana, just bumped into Tzuyu so, we’re just going to apologise and leave.” Nayeon rushed her words.

Sana finally peeked out from behind Nayeon, apologising to Tzuyu, who was looking the other way. Dahyun elbowed her and Tzuyu nodded in acknowledgement.

“You say sorry too.” Dahyun pulled Tzuyu’s ear.

“I didn’t even do anything!” Tzuyu argued.

“You scared them – I’m sure Sana didn’t even bump into you. Stop acting like you’re a badass when you’re nothing close to one.” Dahyun smacked Tzuyu’s head.

Nayeon was left astounded as Tzuyu _smiled._ She smiled at Dahyun for smacking her? Was she seeing things?

“Alright. Fine. I’m sorry for scaring you.” Tzuyu apologised, before leaving the other three behind. Dahyun apologised too, one last time before chasing after the tall giant and pulling her into a headlock.

Nayeon remained frozen as she realised the two of them had escaped unscathed by the tall giant. Though, she found it really adorable that Dahyun had that effect on Tzuyu. She would have never considered that the girl could _blush_ – let alone smile.

“You okay?” Nayeon turned to face Sana, who nodded in return.

“I think you can let go of me now.” Sana cleared her throat, blushing at the fact that Nayeon was still holding on to her.

Nayeon’s eyes widened as she realised that she still had a grip on Sana’s waist. Dropping her arm, she had the audacity to blush and look away, creating a distance between them as they walked towards their dinner location.

Though, the mood had significantly changed from the time they walked out of their room. More sensitive touches while they shared food at their table and more hidden glances towards each other. They were trying to tip-toe around each other but it was causing them to interact more, than create avoidance.

“Thank you for dinner.” Sana mumbled, as they walked inside of their dorm.

“It’s nothing, really.” Nayeon smiled. “Have you started packing for the trip with Jihyo and Lena?”

“Yeah, I’m already packed.” Sana grinned as Nayeon panicked, noting Sana’s duffle bag by her bed.

“Oh, shoot. I’ll get it done now.” Nayeon ran to finish the task.

“Need help?” Sana hesitantly asked.

“No, you should get some rest. You seemed shaken up because of Tzuyu.” Nayeon teased.

“Hey! You pushed me back before I had a chance to react.” Sana argued.

“Yes, because she has a reputation that involves hurting others.” Nayeon rolled her eyes.

“What if they’re just rumours?” Sana pushed.

“Then, I’d change my way of thinking. It’s not that I’m listening to other people’s words. I’ve seen her in action before.” Nayeon validated her reasoning.

“But, there is a reason everyone does something, isn’t there?” Sana contemplated. “What if she did it for a certain reason?”

“I don’t know if she did. But in that moment, she was the one who was scaring the person who was in front of her.” Nayeon frowned. “Where are we going with this conversation?”

“I… just wanted to know why you protected me first.” Sana asked, moving to gaze at Nayeon, who had frozen in her spot.

Why _had_ she moved to protect Sana **first**?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> @likeuwuahh on twitter


	10. [do you want me to show how I flirt?]

Nayeon and Sana were seated in an Uber as they headed towards their destination, where they’d meet Jihyo and Lena. Sitting on the complete opposite ends of the back seat, neither of them spoke. The driver himself, felt uncomfortable with the high tension that exuded from the duo. As for the two girls in question, their thoughts were scattered as the memory of the previous night’s conversation remained looped in their minds.

_“I… just wanted to know why you protected me first.”_

When Sana had asked Nayeon, she remained tongue tied, unable to form a proper reasoning for her actions. It was like an automatic reaction on her end, yet… Nayeon knew that wouldn’t be a justified answer.

_“I don’t know.”_

_“What you do mean you don’t know?”_

Sana was annoyed with their constant back and forth conversations. She just wanted a straight answer.

_“It means I don’t know. It was on impulse.”_

_“On impulse?”_

With Nayeon’s patience regarding their conversation wearing thin due to her lack of knowledge on what to say, her following words might have come off harsher than she’d have liked it to.

_“It was in the moment. If it bothered you so much, I’m sorry. I won’t do it again.”_

That was where things turned around for the two of them. Nayeon had walked away and left Sana behind, who remained shocked with her outburst.

So, now, the tension that remained between them, existed because of the misunderstandings of their conversation the night before. Nayeon was in deep thought, regretting her actions – while Sana lingered on how Nayeon could’ve read the situation differently.

Actually, they hadn’t even planned on traveling together. They wanted to avoid the other, but as luck would have it, Jihyo had booked their Uber ride on behalf of them, ensuring they came together. They’d argued over the phone with her, but Nayeon and Sana had settled with not letting Jihyo’s money going to waste, and accepted the ride.

“We’ve reached.”

Both girls looked out to their destination, finding themselves in front of a hotel.

“Is this the right address?” Nayeon didn’t hesitate to ask.

“This is what I’ve been given.” The driver shrugged.

Nayeon sighed but nodded, getting out of the car and removing her bags, along with Sana’s, out of the boot. She knew she was being stared at by the Japanese girl, but Nayeon refused to make eye contact.

“Can you call Jihyo? My phone battery is flat.” Nayeon grumbled.

“No need.” Sana indicated towards their right, where Jihyo was basically running to them.

“Glad you two could make it!” Jihyo smiled brightly as she reached the duo. “Why do you two look so grumpy?”

“Why are we at a hotel?” Sana questioned.

“Because, it was what I could get on quick demand, which also has a nice area nearby.” Jihyo explained. “You guys are avoiding the question.”

“Let’s head inside.” Nayeon indicated, heading towards the entrance.

“Oh, jesus christ you guys. Fine. Just give them your names at the concierge. I’ll meet you two soon.” Jihyo rolled her eyes at the way they were acting, before disappearing.

Nayeon and Sana eyed Jihyo with suspicion as she left them quickly, but decided to say nothing, heading to check-in.

“Hi, we have a booking under Im Nayeon and Minatozaki Sana.” Nayeon smiled at the girl behind the counter, who blushed under Nayeon’s gaze.

Beside her, Sana couldn’t help but snicker at Nayeon’s actions. Nayeon turned to her and raised an eyebrow, but Sana didn’t say anything, looking the other way.

“Ah, right. It was under Miss Jihyo.” The girl nodded.

“Miss Jihyo?” Nayeon frowned in confusion.

“Yes. Miss Jihyo? The daughter of the owner of Park Hotels. I thought you were aware.”

“Definitely not.” Nayeon and Sana gasped as they took in the new information.

“My apologies. It was not my position to say such a thing.” The girl nervously looked away.

“Oh, it’s no problem–”

“Sorry to cut this short, but could we get our room keys please?” Sana cut off Nayeon’s next attempt at flirting.

The duo were handed two key cards and informed of their package deal. “Your double room is on level three, 306.”

“Double room?” Sana questioned.

“One double bed that has the oceanside view. That was Jihyo’s terms.”

“We will _not_ be sleeping on a double bed.” Nayeon grumbled.

“Well, unfortunately, our rooms are all booked out for this evening, and the following ones.”

“Seriously? There’s no way – argh.” Sana held her head in her hand.

“I was told that you two were roommates in college, so it would be fine if you have one room together.”

“I think I’ll kill Jihyo when I see her next time.” Sana grinned, dying internally.

“It’ll be fine. We’ll sort something out. Thank you.” Nayeon grabbed the keys as she waved at the girl, heading towards the elevators.

Sana followed behind her, muttering to herself as she saw the two of them interact. Nayeon really had the audacity to flirt like that when Sana and Nayeon were currently going to be stuck in a room together – with one bed. At least, she could’ve tried to use her flirting for more useful purposes.

“Why not use your flirting to get her to get us a better room?” Sana shaded.

“Honestly? I’m more than fine with having an ocean view. The room and the services provided are all free – I’m not going to complain. Just look at the bright side of things.” Nayeon shrugged. “And, I wasn’t flirting.”

Sana remained silent and Nayeon smirked, taking it as a win.

“Do you want me to show how I flirt?” Nayeon turned around, walking towards Sana, who shuffled backwards, trapped against the elevator wall. She searched her eyes for any signs of change, but was surprised by the lack of it.

“I’m fine, thank you.” Sana maintained her composure, pushing Nayeon’s shoulder back to gain some space between the two of them.

Why was Nayeon back to being infuriating again? Sana did not like the change at all. It was like a complete turnaround from their working relationship earlier – all because she’d asked Nayeon a simple question? It didn’t make sense to her. Why was everything thrown out of the window; their progress and their bonding? She was extremely confused. And now, they were going to be in a room together until they finish their project.

Sana was not looking forward to the next few days.

The duo walked out of the elevator, awkwardly not trying to bump into each other. Nayeon moved forward first, searching for their room and attempting to slide her card through to open it. Sana had to stifle a laugh as Nayeon’s frustration was evident on her face upon failing to get it to open. With the way she was slamming the card through, it was no surprise it wasn’t working.

“Sometimes, being gentle is the better option.” Sana snickered, pushing her card through slowly and hearing the soft buzz from the door opening.

Nayeon blushed in embarrassment over her failure to open the door, but followed Sana inside, placing her bag by the wooden wardrobe inside.

Both of them were clearly taken off guard by the beauty of the scenery that was visible from the balcony of the room.

“Now I feel like going for a swim.” Nayeon gasped as she looked upon the beachside.

“So, you’re sleeping on the couch?” Sana pointed towards the red sofa that looked way too small to fit a sleeping person.

“Why me? YOU sleep on the couch!” Nayeon turned to face Sana.

“Why should I?” Sana argued.

“Because I saved you yesterday.” Nayeon brought up.

“I didn’t need saving – I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Sana denied. “Which means, you’re sleeping on the couch.”

“Tzuyu would’ve butchered you.” Nayeon crossed her arms to intimidate Sana.

“No, she wouldn’t.”

“Yes, she would.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“Just give up.”

“No.”

“If you tell me why you supposedly saved me yesterday, you can take the bed.” Sana suggested.

“… You can take the bed. I’ll take the couch.” Nayeon accepted defeat.

“Oh, we’re doing the avoiding thing again?” Sana chuckled.

“I don’t have a reason. I just didn’t want you to be hurt. Can we please, just drop it.” Nayeon groaned.

“Really?”

“Yes, really. I’ll still take the couch.” Nayeon jumped on it, resting her head against the arm.

 “You can’t possibly sleep on the couch. It’s tiny.” Sana accepted Nayeon’s change of topic.

“Do you have any other option? Because I’m not sleeping on the floor.” Nayeon asked.

“…”

“That’s what I thought. The only other option is to share the bed.”

“There’s no way I’m sharing a bed with you.” Sana denied.

“It’ll just be for a few nights. Unless you want to sleep on the couch instead?” Nayeon suggested.

“You’re the one who said you’d sleep on the couch.” Sana argued.

“And you’re the one who said I won’t fit. If I don’t fit, you won’t fit either. So, our only solution is to sleep on one bed.” Nayeon rationalised.

Sana kept quiet as she considered what Nayeon had said. It _was_ true that neither of them would fit. After all, the two of them were about the same height. If one of them wouldn’t fit, the other one wouldn’t either.

“What’s so bad about sleeping on one bed? It’s not like we’re doing anything else. Out of the whole day, it’s just eight hours.” Nayeon further explained.

“I want a pillow barrier in the middle.” Sana grumbled, giving up.

“And the one you need to cuddle?” Nayeon teased, making Sana blush.

“What the hell Nayeon! Have you been watching me sleep?” Sana growled.

“No, I just came in our dorm late one night and saw you cuddling a Shiba Inu plush.” Nayeon shrugged.

At this stage, Sana was now crimson red due to embarrassment. “That was a present!”

“Hey, I’m not complaining about your choices on cuddling pillows. It’s completely fine. The little fellow is really adorable.” Nayeon raised her arms up in defence.

“Well, I didn’t get to bring him. I forgot.” Sana huffed, pouting as she looked away. “I guess, a pillow will have to do this time, unfortunately.”

“So, sleeping on one bed is fine? Just in case you change your mind later.” Nayeon asked again.

Sana shot a glare towards Nayeon at her accusation. She’d wasn’t a person who was indecisive or someone who went back on their words.

“Yes. It’s fine. Like I said, there needs to be a barrier. From what I know, you’re the one who might change your mind later, not me.” Sana grumbled. “It took you so long to give me a proper answer to a question that I asked you last night.”

“Hey, it was only because I knew the answer I had wouldn’t be enough. How believable was my reasoning, the first time I said it? You didn’t even respond!” Nayeon clarified.

“Oh, whatever. Just, don’t cross the barrier at night. That’s all I ask.” Sana walked to their bed.

“I’m not the one who’ll be crossing the barrier!” Nayeon shouted back, offended by the mere suggestion.

She wasn’t the one who moved around in her sleep.

That was Sana.


	11. [i'll be your romeo]

Sana had grown tired.

Nayeon had not only stolen all the blankets on the bed, but also kicked her a total of five times in the past hour. The girl wasn’t letting her sleep at all. Even with the barrier in the middle, Nayeon managed to ruin it, making it lose its purpose. When was she going to find a comfortable position to sleep in? One last time, she shoved Nayeon’s foot on her side of the bed before she turned around and shut her eyes close, hoping to fall asleep.

“Don’t leave the duck alone!” Nayeon suddenly shouted, scaring Sana in the process, making her sit up.

She looked over to the perpetrator, about to give her an ear full about screaming in the middle of the night, only to see that Nayeon had never woken up. The girl was mumbling in her sleep. Sana held her hand over her heart as she tried to calm down from the scare. Nayeon kicked around in her sleep, hogged all of the blankets and talked nonsense; Sana was going to have a great time the next few days.

Instead of dealing with sleeping next to Nayeon, Sana grabbed her pillow and a thin sheet and decided to sleep on the couch that was too short for her. At least she’d have all the space to herself rather than being engulfed by Nayeon. So much for her saying she won’t be the one to cross the barrier. Sana couldn’t wait to shove that in her face in the morning. She had no understanding of personal space. Looking at the clock, Sana panicked as the red digits showed that she’d spent a lot more time thinking about Nayeon than she expected.

Add loss of sleep to that list of things Nayeon did, too.

\---

Sana sighed softly as she woke up, stretching out on the comfortable mattress that she felt like she could sleep on forever.

Mattress?

What?

She bolted up, throwing off the blankets that covered her. When had she gotten into the bed? Nayeon wasn’t beside her either. Sana looked over to the couch, seeing the woman who was invading her mind, fast asleep, legs dangling off the edge.

Did she dream about sleeping on the couch and Nayeon’s sleep talking? No, it was very much real. So, either Nayeon put her to bed last night… carrying Sana from the couch and sleeping there. Or, Sana slept in the bed and Nayeon just moved to the couch. There was no other possibility.

Both of their phones buzzed at the same time and Nayeon stirred awake, trying to find the source of the frustrating sound. Sana watched in amusement, as her phone was by the bed and not the couch. Feeling a little too evil for laughing at her, she handed Nayeon her phone, seeing her squinting, but offering a small smile.

“Thank you.” Nayeon mumbled, sitting up on the couch.

“It’s from Jihyo. Probably about getting started on the assignment.” Sana informed as Nayeon struggled to read her message.

“Sorry, I don’t have my glasses on at the moment.” Nayeon admitted, blushing in embarrassment.

Sana sighed, but grabbed them off the table for her, and passing it over. “Why were you sleeping on the couch anyway?” Sana questioned, making Nayeon freeze.

“What? You don’t remember?” Nayeon gasped.

“Please tell me, you didn’t carry me to the bed without my permission.” Sana growled, getting agitated by the mere thought.

Nayeon laughed at Sana’s assumption. Of course, that would never happen. She would be out of her mind to carry Sana when she was so exhausted last night.

“No. I didn’t. You woke me up and told me to sleep on the couch.” Nayeon explained as she got up.

“Wait, no way. I’d never do that!” Sana accused, already red from Nayeon’s words.

“You literally came up to me and shook me awake. You said you wanted the bed to yourself because it was all my fault you were sleeping on the couch instead.” Nayeon crossed her arms.

“I – no, I don’t believe you.” Sana frowned, trying to remember what had happened.

“I’ll let you think about it. I’m going to go wash up.” Nayeon smiled, leaving a confused Sana behind.

Sana stood rooted on her spot, thinking about what Nayeon had just said. She remembered grabbing the sheet and pillow off the bed to go to the couch. After that, her mind was drawing a blank – oh wait. Oh god, Nayeon hadn’t lied. The embarrassment was starting to creep in now. Sana had been too cold on the couch and she was still pissed at Nayeon for stealing all of the blankets earlier… so she told Nayeon to sleep on the couch.

Well, more like demanded.

Oh, god.

She’d even threatened Nayeon with going back to her old tactics again, which they’d promised to leave behind. Sana jumped to her feet as Nayeon exited the bathroom, freezing when she realised she was being stared at by Sana.

“I didn’t take that long? I’m sorry. You can go in now.” Nayeon mumbled, moving to her bag.

“Huh? Wait, no that’s not it.” Sana shook her head. “I’m sorry about this morning. I must have been really exhausted.”

“Oh. No, that’s fine. I mean, you slept next to me for hours, and I know how difficult that is. I didn’t think that I’d be that bad. It’s just a bad habit of mine, so I’m sorry. I knew you were tired as well, so don’t worry. It’s fine, I’ll just take the couch the next few nights. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.” Nayeon grinned.

For some reason, Sana felt really guilty as Nayeon opted to take the couch. They’d discussed last night that they would be okay sleeping together, so Nayeon shouldn’t be going out of her way to sleep on the couch. Maybe, just maybe, Nayeon had sleeping problems? She didn’t want to assume, but she was usually calm at the dorm.

“It’s fine. I’ll ask for extra blankets for tonight. You’re not sleeping on that couch. You’d be better off sleeping on cardboard than that.” Sana argued, not letting Nayeon reply as she locked herself inside the bathroom.

\---

“So, do you two want to act first or edit the video for the first assignment?” Jihyo asked as Sana and Nayeon joined her outside.

“Act.” “Edit.” The duo spoke at once, Jihyo laughing at them both.

“Okay, how about you join me for editing, Sana, and Nayeon can act with Lena on this one?” Jihyo suggested, earning accepting nods from them.

“Are we doing Ghost first? Or Romeo & Juliet?” Nayeon questioned.

“Hmm. Maybe R&J? It requires a kiss though.” Jihyo hummed as she flipped through the script.

Upon the mention, Nayeon nodded, pulling up a copy of their acting script. Lena approached Nayeon shyly, asking to go through the script together. From the corner of her eyes, Nayeon could see Sana was staring at them, but was unaware of any reason why. It’s not like she wanted to act first – she’d said so herself that she wanted to edit. Ignoring her, she faced Lena instead.

Sana looked to the duo with a frown on her face. Nayeon and Lena had moved away from Jihyo and herself, deciding to work on the script. But why were they laughing so much and hitting each other’s shoulders like they were long lost friends. She watched on as Nayeon brushed Lena’s hair behind her ear, saying something that made her erupt into laughter and blush. Sana’s frown deepened as Nayeon held Lena’s hand, squeezing it tightly.

“Any more staring and you’ll burn them both.” Jihyo joked beside her, nudging her.

“Huh? Oh, I was just lost in thought.” Sana shrugged, pretending like she wasn’t just staring at her roommate.

Jihyo rolled her eyes at the excuse, knowing fairly well that Sana wasn’t lost in thought, but she let her go on with the lie. The closer Lena and Nayeon got, the more agitated Sana became. Like, as if any second, she’d go up there and split them apart.

“Don’t you think we should start acting? Or practicing a little bit?” Sana shouted at the giggling duo. Her blood was boiling at the sight. This trip wasn’t just for them to flirt with each other and spend time together. They had work to do.

Clearly, both girls were startled with Sana’s shout, only Jihyo biting the inside of her cheek to stop herself from laughing at Sana’s situation. She didn’t have a death wish; especially from the raging girl beside her.

 “Did you decide who will be who?” Jihyo stood up to approach the duo. “I think Nayeon would be a good Romeo.”

“Lena is Romeo. I’m better off playing Juliet.” Nayeon shook her head, looking to Sana to see if she was okay.

“Sure?” Jihyo double-checked.

“Mhmm. We’re good to go.” Lena clapped, earning a snicker from Sana.

“Sana? You okay?” Nayeon raised an eyebrow at her roommate.

“Why wouldn’t I be? All good.” Sana forced a smile.

Nayeon hesitated for a few moments, wondering what was going on in that mind of hers, but Jihyo pushed her away, telling her to stand by Lena.

“We’re just running through lines. This shouldn’t take long, since the scene is quite short. Then we’ll move to one of our room balconies, where Nayeon will be.” Jihyo advised. “Since Lena will be Romeo, she’ll be standing at the bottom, trying to sneak up to see Nayeon.”

“Sounds good. Let’s get these lines going then.” Nayeon cheered, turning to face Lena.

Sana sighed heavily as she watched the two, not liking the feeling brewing in her stomach. She looked away as they proclaimed their love for each other. Her mood was changing very fast, changing from frustrated to annoyed and now angry.

Without her knowledge, Jihyo tried to get Lena’s attention, waving frantically next to her. _Go with the plan_ , she mouthed, earning a nod and thumbs up from Lena. The duo smiled evilly, having full faith in what they’d discussed.

“Alright, ready? Go.” Jihyo instructed, getting the duo to start their dialogue.

She waited for the key moment, where she knew Sana would blow. Well, where Jihyo was expecting her to. It was about towards the end of the scene, and she knew Sana was following along, with the way her jaw was set tightly.

This won’t backfire.

“Farewell, my love. One more kiss, and I’ll descend.” Lena spoke with charm.

Nayeon gulped as she Lena leaned forward, closing the distance between the of them. Jihyo smiled in satisfaction as Sana clenched her fists beside her.

One.

Two.

Three.

“Wait!” Sana shouted, startling Nayeon and Lena, making them jump apart.

Three pairs of eyes turned to her, waiting for a response from Sana as to why she stopped them.

“What happened?” Nayeon frowned in worry. “That was bad acting, wasn’t it? I’m not going to do well in the future at the rate I’m going at.”

“I think we need to make some adjustments.” Sana suggested.

“Like what?” Jihyo pushed.

“I think their chemistry isn’t good enough. There’s something missing. It seems like you two are more like friends than lovers.” Sana criticised.

Jihyo almost snickered at Sana’s excuse. It was pretty much putting Nayeon and Lena into the friendzone.

Well played Sana.

“Oh? Really? It kind of seemed a little awkward to me too.” Jihyo played along, nudging Sana.

“I guess we can work on it–”

“No! There’s no need for that.” Sana cut off Lena’s suggestion.

“What other solution do we have? Because, I really don’t see any, unless either of you change your jobs.” Nayeon sighed.

“I’ll do it.” Sana moved forward. “We’re roommates, so it won’t be uncomfortable for us to work together.”

Nayeon struggled to keep the smile off her face as she heard Sana’s suggestion. “Are you sure? I thought you wanted to edit.”

“I’ll do it.” Sana looked up to face Nayeon, locking eyes with her. “I’ll be your Romeo.”


	12. [can you kiss me?]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what is studying :)

The four of them looked at each other in silence, no one daring to say a word.

On the inside, Jihyo and Lena were celebrating, while Nayeon was trying to bite back a smile at Sana’s request. Well, it was more of a demand, but who was she to say no to Sana (she could have totally said no).

“Guys?” Sana sought a response from her group members. She really hadn’t known what had spurred her to suggest such a change, but she knew she was going to teased about it by Nayeon. And Sana had seen the teasing smirk on Jihyo’s face too, when she put her suggestion out.

“I think it’s a _brilliant_ idea.” Jihyo teased, earning an elbow to her ribs from Sana.

“Honestly, I think it’s a smart choice. You two would obviously show more chemistry since you’ve known each other longer.” Lena nodded, agreeing with Jihyo.

“Alright my Romeo, let’s go.” Nayeon chuckled as Sana groaned at the name, pulling her to the side. “You sure you’re okay with this?”

“Mhmm.” Sana grinned.

Nayeon couldn’t pass the chance to tease her further than she had already. She looked so adorable and cute when she blushed out of shyness. She was extremely glad Sana had voiced out to be her Romeo because she _really_ didn’t want to be the one to kiss Lena.

“Even the kiss?” Nayeon eyed Sana for a change of reaction. Sana only blushed deeper, ready to smack Nayeon for turning her into a blushing and speechless mess.

“Stop pushing it.” Sana growled.

“Fine, fine. I’m sure Lena–”

“Nayeon.”

Nayeon raised her eyebrows at Sana, surprised to be cut off, only for the realisation to dawn on her – Sana was jealous. She was definitely _not_ expecting that to show up after whatever altercations had arisen between them ever since they’d become roommates. It was clear as day; the glares that she gave Lena, the stopping of their roles, the want to be Romeo – this was glorious.

“Are you guys ready?” Jihyo called out, breaking the two out of their moment. “Let’s get the camera rolling.”

“How did you know the plan would work?” Lena whispered to Jihyo as Nayeon and Sana moved in position.

“Read the signs. Tell me you didn’t realise that Sana was glaring at you the entire time this morning, or that Nayeon kept glancing towards Sana?” Jihyo snickered.

“Yeah – but you had this plan in mind from before?” Lena frowned.

Jihyo smiled, thinking back to how this all even started. “A little birdie told me.”

“Was it Momo? Or Mina?” Lena shook her head at the realisation.

“I’ll leave it up to you to guess.” Jihyo laughed, moving to press record.

\---

Momo was lying on her bed in the dorm, staring up at the ceiling while her mind was swarming with plenty of worries. She really hadn’t meant to spill things when Jihyo had sat with her during lunch time a week ago.

“Are you sure it was a good idea for me to tell Jihyo about Nayeon’s weird feelings for Sana?” Momo groaned.

Mina chuckled at her misery, tossing her a bar of chocolate. “I told her about Sana too, remember? And it’s not like we said anything unnecessary. It was just the honest truth. They _have_ been acting weirdly ever since they had their truce.”

“But… it’s not really our place. I feel like we imposed on their relationship.” Momo huffed, taking an angry bite out of the chocolate.

“Look, Jihyo isn’t going to push their faces together and make them kiss. And, the two of them won’t even know we told them anything! Stop worrying so much!” Mina discouraged, sighing before moving to Momo’s side and pulling her off the bed. “Come on. You need to release this stress.”

Momo remained flustered as Mina pulled her out of the dorm room, hand covering her wrist. Where was this girl even taking her? She blindly let Mina guide her, apologising to students if she bumped into them a little too hard.

“We’re here.” Mina cheered, still holding on to Momo’s hand.

“The arcade?” Momo gasped. “They have Dance Dance Revolution!”

Unknowingly, Mina was caught off guard as Momo pulled her along to the machine. She hadn’t touched one since she’d been in Japan – and that was when she was still a teenager. It’s been years since she’s danced on it again. After school, her group of friends used to hang out at the arcade and _always_ took over the machine.

Mina watched in amusement as Momo’s eyes lit up when she stepped up on the machine, making her feel happy for choosing the location to destress Momo. Personally, she was an avid gamer and spent her holidays cooped up in her room or out at the arcade breaking high school students’ records. And, she might have also seen Momo dance a few times – seemingly unconsciously because she still hadn’t known that Mina had seen her sway to the beat of some cheesy love song.

It was much more hilarious trying to watch Momo match the beats to the song she’d chosen, as she decided to choose a hard level – and heavily regretted it. She was totally off-beat and missing each step, resorting to stomping on all of the steps on the floor as quickly as she could. But, Mina could tell that Momo was at least less worried about the outcome of Nayeon and Sana’s situation going on. At this rate, she’d have to think of something every day to distract this goofball in front of her, until the duo returned.

“Momo, you really suck. Why did you even decide to choose a hard level?” Mina shook her head as Momo blushed in complete embarrassment.

“I was having fun…” Momo pouted, making Mina squeal internally at her cuteness. Though, that changed so quickly, seeing Momo run her hand through her hair and tie it up in a ponytail. God, this girl was going to be the death of Mina. “You know, if you’re so critical of my poor coordination skills, how about you come up on this one.”

Mina was about to deny Momo, but she was given the puppy eyes and Momo’s puppy eyes couldn’t really be denied. Momo used that on her a little too much – and it worked every single time as well. The duo smirked as they gripped the back bar, getting ready for the duel of their lives. The countdown begun and they turned to face the screen.

“Loser buys dinner?” Momo suggested.

“Loser buys dinner.” Mina smirked, agreeing to the terms.

\---

“Okay – all we have left is the kiss. Do you guys want to work on it today? Or tomorrow?” Jihyo asked Nayeon and Sana, who had finally relaxed from their acting.

“Huh? I’m exhausted from today.” Nayeon whined.

Sana nodded in agreement, legs feeling so sore from standing up for so long. Being Romeo was absolutely exhausting. Well, she did get to say cheesy lines to Nayeon that flustered her on more occasions than she expected. It was a little bit of a payback from the teasing she got from her for calling out to be Romeo.

“We’ll call it a day then. How about dinner?” Lena offered, earning hums of agreement from everyone else.

“I’ll wash up first and then come down.” Nayeon sighed, massaging her shoulders.

Sana looked to her in worry, but it was quickly brushed off by Nayeon, who simply offered her a cheeky smile.

“Hmm… I’ll come down with you later then too. You guys head there first.” Sana grumbled as Jihyo wiggled her eyebrows at her.

As Jihyo and Lena left the two of them, Nayeon and Sana walked in silence towards their dorm room. Nayeon irregularly massaged her shoulders, dropping her hand when she realised that Sana’s gaze was on hers. She had no idea why it was hurting so much; she only leaned forward on the balcony and that shouldn’t have caused her shoulders to be in so much. And the pain wasn’t even decreasing, but steadily increasing, like a throbbing ache.

“What hurts?” Sana worriedly asked as she noticed the frown on Nayeon’s face. They’d reached their room but she could tell Nayeon’s mind was elsewhere.

“Just a little bit of shoulder pain.” Nayeon was quick to shoot down Sana’s worries again, smiling as she opened the door for them.

Though, Sana heard the wince that escaped her lips when she bent down to pick something she’d dropped on the floor, and she knew it was just ‘a little bit of shoulder pain’. Letting her shower first, Sana rummaged her bag for the inflammatory cream she always carried around with her (she was clumsy sometimes, okay). As soon as Nayeon popped out of the shower, towel around her neck as she aired her hair, Sana froze for a few seconds before her brain finally processed what she was meant to do.

“Nayeon. Come sit here.” Sana pointed to the carpet in front of her.

“Huh? Why?” Nayeon maintained a defensive stance towards Sana’s sudden request.

“Pull up the back of your shirt, too.” Sana sighed, waiting patiently.

“What?!” Nayeon crossed her arms over her shirt.

“Get down here. I know you’re in pain.” Sana glared, pointing in front of her again.

Nayeon gulped, nodding immediately as she didn’t want to get on the bad side of Sana before the night ended. She really thought she kept her pain under wraps.

Carefully, she lifted up her shirt, pulling it over her head. Thankfully she hadn’t made the mistake of forgetting to wear a bra – she would’ve been extremely embarrassed if that had happened. Nayeon winced as the cold gel hit her back, Sana’s warm fingers helping the feeling of discomfort. Slowly, she rubbed the gel into her shoulders, and Nayeon sighed blissfully at the feeling. She was extremely grateful that Sana was even willing to give her a massage.

“You better not sleep on the couch at all at night.” Sana growled, digging her fingers into the knots of Nayeon’s shoulders.

Honestly, she thought she’d feel awkward massaging her roommate’s shoulders, but Sana was more concerned about the heavy nots that she was just managing to unwind.

“Thank you.” Nayeon sincerely mumbled as she pulled her shirt on again. “I feel better already. If you have anything to ask of me, I’m in your debt.”

“Good. You better take care of yourself more. And… I’ll keep that in mind.” Sana scolded before heading in the bathroom to freshen up.

Nayeon remained taken off guard by Sana’s aggressive behaviour all night, wondering where all of the scolding was coming from, but also appreciating it. She patiently waited for Sana, as her mind wandered off to the events of today. There was plenty of accidental touches and bumping and shy grins exchanged but she had no idea what any of it meant. If she were to be honest, she was scared of the shooting of the kissing scene. It was definitely going to make things awkward between them – even more than before.

Sana finished showering, saving Nayeon’s thoughts from delving deeper into the possible ruining of their ‘relationship’.

“Dinner?”

“Dinner.”

Miraculously, the dinner was filled with jokes and laughter, rather than awkward silence – surprising both of them. Nayeon and Sana had gone off some tangent about online shopping and there was no coming back anymore. They’d even gotten to eating dessert together; that’s how long they spent talking to each other. There had been some sort of shift between the duo from the events of the past few days, and they both picked up on it.

“That was a delightful dinner.” Sana confessed, as they entered their room again.

“I think we’re getting better at this whole roommate slash friend thing going on.” Nayeon chuckled, making Sana laugh as well.

The two gazed at each other for a few moments, tension suddenly increasing in the room with the heated glances.

“About being in that debt. I have something I’d like to redeem.” Sana nervously asked, rubbing her neck.

Nayeon nodded, indicating for her to go ahead.

“Can you kiss me?”


	13. [lets' do it]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> unedited, sorry for any typos

Nayeon blinked.

Once.

Twice.

Did she hear correctly? Or was it all in her head? Had Sana really just asked to be kissed as her favour? As she looked to her roommate, it was obvious that Sana had been serious, but now looking more nervous for even suggesting it.

“It was stupid to suggest–”

“Why?” Nayeon cut Sana’s rambling off

“Huh?” Sana frowned, looking to Nayeon.

“Why do you want me to kiss you? I thought you hated me?” Nayeon reminded.

“I don’t hate you. And, it’s only because I don’t want to embarrass myself tomorrow when we have to kiss in front of Jihyo and Lena. Just like… I wanted to practice before the scene gets shot for the video later.” Sana explained, blush spreading over her cheeks.

“You want to kiss me, to practice for the Romeo and Juliet scene?” Nayeon clarified.

Sana nodded shyly, wondering if she should have just kept her mouth shut about her situation. Honestly, she was already starting to regret suggesting practicing because Nayeon sounded like she was repeating the question, just to tease her about it. And on top of that, she’d been silent ever since her last question, a frown on her face.

She just didn’t want tomorrow to go badly – and well, a part of her was also still overwhelmed by the feelings of the night they had together. But she’d never kiss Nayeon without her permission; not that she was given a chance to. Sana felt like her brain wasn’t even processing what she was thinking anymore. Nayeon wasn’t responding to her and her worries were increasing and she probably just made the biggest mistake of her life and she was going to regret everything and her mind was going crazy again, great.

Sana looked up to Nayeon once more, hoping to get something out of her anytime soon. Her own nervousness was peaking as each second went by. What was going on in Nayeon’s mind? Plotting Sana’s murder for such a suggestion?

Though, actually, Nayeon was completely panicking. She was about to kiss her roommate. Things would definitely get awkward; there was no going back once this happened. They still had plenty of time until the semester ended and they’d have to deal with each other, look at the other in the face as if they hadn’t kissed. How was she even meant to do that? But, if they didn’t kiss today, they would have kissed tomorrow anyway so it would happen eventually.

Damn the scripts for having kisses in them.

Damn everything because Nayeon didn’t know what to do right now.

It was all that teacher’s fault for putting them in the same group and also Sana, who decided to be Romeo!

If Sana hadn’t cut in and chosen to be Romeo, Nayeon would be with Lena. That experience would’ve been entirely awkward.

She was at crossroads with their situation with no idea whether to agree or disagree.

Their budding friendship was at stake here. She did promise Sana a favour, but of this kind? She knew she’d never see Sana in the same light after they kissed. They’d worked through things, finally, and it was going to be thrown out of the window.

“This won’t affect us, you know.” Sana smirked.

“I–I wasn’t thinking about that.” Nayeon poorly denied, unable to hide the redness on her cheeks.

“We’re going to kiss tomorrow anyway. So…” Sana trailed off, twiddling her thumbs.

Nayeon thought about it for a few more moments.

Maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea.

At least, it would be possibly less awkward tomorrow, with less weird touches and gazes that made her want to hide.

“Fine.”

“Fine?”

“Let’s do it.”

Nayeon took a deep breath as she seated herself next to Sana, turning to face her roommate. If it weren’t for her shaking hands, Nayeon wouldn’t have even guessed that Sana was nervous. Gently, she covered her hands with her own, smiling at the gasp that escaped Sana’s lips at the simple contact.

“Just breathe. You need to relax Sana.” Nayeon advised, patting Sana’s hands. “If you have second thoughts about this, it’s fine.”

Sana shook her head, taking a deep breath before looking up to Nayeon. She sensed the worry, which was radiating off Nayeon clearly.

“No, oh my god. I didn’t even consider your feelings. I feel terrible.” Sana pulled back, panicking as she observed Nayeon.

“We’re going to kiss eventually Sana. It’s fine. I’m fine. Are you fine?” Nayeon edged closer, trying to sooth Sana.

“Yes, but–” Nayeon moved forward to cup Sana’s face in her hands, silencing her words.

“Tomorrow’s kiss is meant to be uh, passionate? But I don’t want you to be overwhelmed by that yet so we’ll start slow.” Nayeon informed, slowly leaning forward as Sana gave her a nod of approval.

Sweeping her thumbs against Sana’s cheekbones, Nayeon inched further, brushing her lips against Sana’s. She heard the hitch in her breath, a smile gracing her lips upon hearing such a reaction. Nayeon brought Sana’s hands up, wrapping them around her neck loosely as she slipped her right arm around Sana’s waist.

Their breathing had quickened. Sana could feel Nayeon’s heartbeat pulsating under her touch. The air around them felt heavy, like when they had walked into the room after dinner and dessert. Emotions running high, mind screaming, chanting – to close the distance and Nayeon _finally_ kissed her fully, pulling her closer.

If there was anything Sana was expecting when she kissed Nayeon, it definitely wasn’t the soft feeling of her lips pressed against hers (and yes, Sana had thought about kissing Nayeon before in a fleeting moment).

When Nayeon pulled back, eyes still closed, Sana followed, chasing after the soft feeling of her lips. Though, she quickly moved away upon the realisation of her actions, blushing deeply.

“How was that?” Nayeon nervously asked, massaging the back of her neck.

Sana licked her bottom lip, still being able to feel the gentleness of Nayeon’s lips on hers, like a caress. Nayeon noticed this, turning red as her gaze remained locked on Sana’s lips.

“Maybe we should try it out for a little bit longer?” Sana suggested absentmindedly, still reeling from the kiss.

Nayeon didn’t hesitate to pull her to her again, pressing her lips against Sana’s.

\---

It had been possibly an hour of practicing, maybe even more – neither of them had kept track of time. But, as they broke apart yet again, Nayeon noticed Sana’s swollen lips; she was sure her own were mirroring the look. She hesitatingly looked at the time, looking to Sana who was flushed red, all the way to her ears.

“I think we’re pretty ready for later?” Nayeon mumbled.

“Huh? Right. Thank you for doing me the favour. It means a lot.” Sana admitted, offering a sincere smile.

Nayeon nodded, moving off the bed to sleep on the couch again, like the night before. Hopefully Sana had forgotten about her scolding this morning about where to sleep.

Luck was not on her side.

“Hey, where are you going? Didn’t I tell you about not sleeping on the couch?” Sana crossed her arms as she saw Nayeon head towards the couch.

“I don’t want to steal the blankets or kick you at night.” Nayeon confessed sheepishly. She also didn’t want to be thinking about kissing Sana when she was literally going to be centimetres away from her face if they slept on the same bed.

“It’ll be fine. Your shoulders were already hurting. And you said yes to sleeping on the bed. There’s no point arguing, please? Just come sleep here.” Sana pleaded, pointing towards the bed.

With a heavy sigh, Nayeon nodded, agreeing to her death by sleeping next to Sana for the night. Please, give her patience and restraint to get her through this night and whatever was to come. She could only hope that things would go well during their shooting after their kissing session today.

As Sana went to change out of her clothes first, Nayeon sat on the bed, stuck in a thinking loop about Sana’s lips and the way they felt. See, this is what she was worried about. The feelings from high school, adding to being her roommate and now shooting the movie script together to kissing. God, she didn’t know what to do anymore about her feelings. They were a mess.

This is what she didn’t want happening. Nayeon didn’t want to delve back into the situation of the past where her presence wasn’t acknowledged by Sana. Everyone talked to her and was friendly with her, until it came to Sana, who hated her guts. They’d talked about leaving the past in the past, but Nayeon’s situation was going south – she was already catching feelings, _again_.

Sana cleared her throat as she left the bathroom, letting Nayeon go in and change her clothes and also breaking her out of her dangerous thoughts. Nayeon nodded, smiling gratefully before taking her time inside the bathroom. Perhaps, Sana would be on her way to falling asleep when she left after changing. She wouldn’t have to face her, or do the awkward talk with her that was spinning off their extremely long practice session.

She’d probably spent half an hour in the bathroom, hoping it was enough. Nayeon sighed gleefully as Sana was indeed asleep as she approached the bed. Carefully climbing in to not wake her roommate, Nayeon slid under the covers, lying on her back and staring at the ceiling. Sana was facing the other way for now, so she could definitely sleep in peace – but how long would that last.

Nayeon always had to ask the wrong things at the wrong times, because just as she had asked herself that question, Sana had turned over, facing Nayeon and slinging an arm around her waist. Her senses went into overdrive with her hand on her stomach, barely just grazing the skin. It felt hot. Too hot. She couldn’t throw Sana’s hand off her now, could she? Things were just getting worse. Releasing a puff of air, Nayeon tried to shut her eyes and sleep, ignoring the feel of Sana’s hand on her stomach.

Though, with a harsh tug, Nayeon was turned around, lying on her side and facing Sana. She’d forgotten about Sana’s clinginess! Her lack of cuddling material she’d teased her about now came to bite her on her butt. Karma was indeed, sweet. Nayeon breathed heavily as she faced Sana, trying to slow down the way her heart was beating so rapidly due to their close proximity. Sana was still moving around a little bit, presumably to become more comfortable around Nayeon’s presence. Her body was sounding out alarms at their distance and Sana’s touch on her, but Nayeon couldn’t do anything to battle Sana’s clinging nature.

Nayeon shuffled around a little bit, trying to get somewhat comfortable in the position Sana had turned her in. Once again, it was shortly lived. Sana snuggled against Nayeon’s neck, breath hitching upon the feeling of Sana’s nose brushing against her skin. Her arms were now slung around Nayeon’s waist and one of Sana’s legs brushed against hers. This girl was going to be the death of her tonight. Would she even get any sleep at the rate this was going? Please, she’d never asked for anything else. Let her fall asleep in peace without Sana moving again.

Her entire body was warming up fast and on high alert. Sana’s hair tickled Nayeon’s nose. Her fingers lingered just below her shirt. She could feel Sana breathing softly against her neck. Sana’s leg was firmly pressed against her own.

And Nayeon’s brain? About to short circuit because of all of these feelings at once. She felt like she was about to combust, and Sana was the entire reason. She felt like she was taking advantage of Sana (even though, it was clearly the other way around) and Nayeon needed to move away. Sana had an iron grip on her though, which meant she couldn’t even move.

The couch would’ve been safe.

Safe for her mind and her body and everything else that was currently affected by Sana.

With a heavy sigh, Nayeon gave up, closing her eyes in hopes of getting some sleep, despite the cuddling monster that lay beside her holding her so tightly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> @likeuwuahh on twitter


	14. [too cute to look angry]

Sana woke up to an empty bed in the morning, feeling a little too chilly because of the low temperature of the air conditioning. Had she slept in?

She rummaged around for her glasses before reaching over to pick up her phone to check the time. It was only seven in the morning, why was Nayeon not in the room?

As if someone had heard her questions, Nayeon exited the bathroom, making Sana feel incredibly silly. Had she seriously just been worrying over Nayeon’s presence? She refused to make eye contact with her roommate, trying to cover herself with her blanket, only to hear Nayeon chuckle.

“What? You didn’t have a good sleep cuddling me like a pillow?” Nayeon teased.

If Sana had woken up when Nayeon had, she’d have seen that they were a tangled mess – their legs were intertwined, her head was tucked against Nayeon’s neck, arms were wrapped around each other’s waists. Nayeon had bolted out of the bed when she’d opened her eyes, feeling way too overwhelmed yet again because of her roommate. As if the night before wasn’t enough, where it took her ages to fall asleep, she had to wake up that way as well.

“Me? Cuddling you?” Sana questioned, feeling embarrassed just by the mentioning of such an incident.

“Yes. Like a koala.” Nayeon shook her head, smile still gracing her lips.

“I’m sorry… it’s just–”

“You don’t have your pillow, I know.” Nayeon teased.

Sana huffed in annoyance, throwing her pillow at Nayeon, hitting her square in the face. She was going to be a tomato all day if Nayeon didn’t stop her teasing. Nayeon raised an eyebrow at her, smiling. She felt so nervous being under Nayeon’s gaze, especially when she smiled softly. Sana was unaware of its meaning; sincere or plotting her revenge?

“You asked for it.” Nayeon muttered, throwing the pillow she’d hidden behind her back.

Sana squealed as she was hit in the head, glaring at Nayeon before entangling herself out of the bed sheets. She prepared a pillow in her hand, ready to fire it at Nayeon, only to realise she had _two_ in her hand.

“Hey, that’s cheating!” Sana argued, pointing to the extra pillows.

“We didn’t even establish any rules.” Nayeon stuck out her tongue, changing her stance to throw her pillow.

Having the momentary advantage of just talking to Sana and distracting her, Nayeon threw the first pillow without any hesitation, landing perfectly on Sana’s face. But before she could stop and take a second to laugh, Sana had chased after her.

The duo looked like cat and mouse as they ran around the room, Sana’s squeals making Nayeon laugh when she missed her shot.

“Woah!” Nayeon gasped as she slipped on the edge of the blanket of the bed, sending her tumbling down.

Was she dead? Why did everything feel so heavy, oh my god. Her back was broken, right?

“See, this is why you don’t pick a fight you can’t win.” Sana’s voice sounded so much louder than Nayeon expected.

“Wha–?” Nayeon opened her eyes, seeing Sana’s face right in front of her. Was she trying to look mad? She looked like a cute squirrel with her cheeks puffed up. She couldn’t stop herself from laughing at Sana.

“Wow, are you seriously laughing at me?” Sana growled, making Nayeon laugh harder.

“I’m sorry, but you look too cute to look angry.” Nayeon complimented.

Sana blushed, looking away. Nayeon had no filter anymore, did she? “Did you hit your head really hard?”

“Maybe. But also, I’m having a little bit of a struggle breathing so–”

“Oh, right.” Sana scrambled off Nayeon, offering her hand to help her stand up.

“So – do you want to go out for breakfast? There’s another long day ahead.” Nayeon cleared her throat as she stood up.

“Huh? Oh right. The filming for the last scenes. I’ll just go washup and I’ll be right out.” Sana smiled, heading towards the bathroom.

Nayeon let out a thankful sigh, getting a chance to calm her wild heart. She thought she was doing okay with keeping her feelings at bay but then Sana had to just tumble into her arms like that and everything got thrown out of the window. She couldn’t help the compliment that rolled off her tongue like it was something she was completely fluent in. She really wasn’t fluent in anything related to Sana. Nayeon never had the chance to get to know her like she had now. Becoming roommates might have been a big problem at the start. She didn’t know if things were worse now, with her heart peeking out of her sleeve, or if it was better, for the two of them and their budding relationship.

\---

With Nayeon shooting her own final individual scenes first, Sana had the chance to calm herself down after everything that had conspired over the past few days.

Jihyo was right.

Sana was jealous.

Sana was mad.

She wanted to pull Lena far away from Nayeon, where she couldn’t get her hands on her. Sana knew Nayeon was just being friendly but it annoyed her. It annoyed her that Nayeon was busy making someone else laugh, flirting with them and joking around like it was in her nature.

Sana hated the feeling in her stomach. She hated how she reacted to Nayeon’s compliment this morning. She hated how Nayeon always made her blush with her sincerity. She hated everything Nayeon made her feel.

God, she didn’t want these feelings. She really wanted to continue hating Nayeon because it was easier. So much easier than what she was feeling right now.

But how can she do that when Nayeon is so amazing and kind? She was always smiling (other than the times that Sana had made her mad) and never hesitated to help and it made Sana feel like she was the worse person alive.

Nayeon didn’t deserve hate, she didn’t deserve any of what Sana had given her the entire high school year, and when they’d become roommates. She’d adhered to Sana’s wishes of using the red tape and respected her boundaries. She’d protected her from bullies, made her eat when she was hungry. Nayeon had only ever been good to her, the entire time. Sure, the pranks were a little bad, but that had also turned Sana into the bad roommate. She was the one who ruined Nayeon’s assignment.

The reason for her behaviour was justified, in her opinion. Sana’s friend had told her than Nayeon was manipulative and toxic and heartless and every bad word that she could think of. She had said that Nayeon rejected her confession outright and never even gave her time to talk – but after knowing Nayeon, she couldn’t even believe her friend’s words.

What if Sana spent her time in high school, hating Nayeon for something that didn’t even happen? What if she was swayed by her friend because she was just jealous she couldn’t date Nayeon? Sana saw her friend hurt, so she hurt too. She said hurtful things to Nayeon and it was all coming back to her at once.

She felt sick thinking of such a possibility. Sana had been scolded by Mina once, for being way too gullible. The more she knew Nayeon, the more she thought about how wrong her friend’s words were. She never saw Nayeon’s manipulative and toxic nature. She’d been anything but heartless the entire time they’d been roommates despite Sana’s continuous harsh words and actions.

Now that she considered it, if anyone fit such descriptions as her friend had depicted Nayeon as, it was Sana’s friend, herself. Someone who manipulated her into believing that Nayeon was the most terrible person to walk on this earth. She’d been stupid, so stupid to believe in her friend without thinking it through. She’d followed her, like a blind sheep and now she had no idea if she could reverse the hurt she’d conflicted on Nayeon.

She convinced herself that she hated Nayeon all this time, from their high school years to now, but taking everything into consideration, it definitely wasn’t hate. It was something she didn’t want to acknowledge.

Sana looked up, seeing Nayeon laugh alongside Lena as Jihyo set up the camera for another take. The feeling of hatred was filling up in her stomach again. Hatred? Was it that? No, it wasn’t. Sana fisted her hand as Nayeon continued talking to Lena.

But then, Nayeon turned to Sana, stopping her conversation with Lena.

She gave her the biggest smile.

And Sana’s heart stuttered in her chest.

It was never hatred.

Sana was falling.

\---

With all individual scenes shot for the script, there was only the final kiss to be filmed before they wrapped up with everything and moved on to editing.

Sana and Nayeon were both extremely nervous all over again. They practiced, yes, but this could take a lot more than one take if they didn’t get it right in one shot. Which meant… a lot of kissing. Not to forget that Sana had to be the bold one between them since she was Romeo. Nayeon was the one in lead last night, Sana had to be upfront about the kiss today.

Jihyo arrived by Sana’s side, scaring her in the process.

“Is Nayeon done?” Sana mumbled.

“Mhmm. She’s waiting for you inside.” Jihyo smiled, indicating to the room they turned into the party event.

Really, Sana thought she looked hilarious in the knight inspired costume, but her opposition was quickly shot down by both Lena and Jihyo.

“You look good, I swear.” Jihyo comforted, leading her forward into the hall.

Sana froze in her spot, feeling worried all over again.

“Let me just tell you this. It might help if you express your true feelings.” Jihyo encouraged, putting a smile to Sana’s face.

Sana took a deep breath before walking in through the wooden doors of the hall. She was left speechless, however, upon the sight on Nayeon, who stood with her back to Sana.

From her white wings, to the vines that were wound in her hair, to the matching white dress that reached just above her ankles – and when she turned around, there was that stutter in Sana’s chest again. The one she couldn’t control as she neared Nayeon, quickening in pace instead of slowing down.

In the back, she heard Jihyo command; the shooting had begun.

“Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer.” Nayeon backed away as Sana moved forward.

“Well then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do; they pray grant thou, lest faith turn into despair.” Sana proclaimed, leaning forward and brushing her lips against Nayeon’s.

She felt Nayeon stop for a second, taken aback by the touch but she resumed her role just as fast, pulling back with a teasing smirk. She stared at Sana with a sultry gaze, effectively catching her off guard.

“Saints do not move, though grant for prayers’ sake.” Nayeon continued, reaching the elevator.

“Then… move not, while my prayers’ effect I take.” Sana whispered, leaning forward and kissing Nayeon.

Sana didn’t flinch or hesitate this time, taking charge and pulling Nayeon closer by her waist. Nayeon pushed them into the elevator, wrapping her arms around Sana’s neck. They parted for a second, Sana was aware she had to say something but in the heat of the moment, she’d forgotten, diving back into the kiss.

It felt nice, kissing Nayeon.

It felt warm, it felt like home.

As she pulled back when Jihyo announced for the end of the scene, Sana looked to Nayeon, realising the weight of her situation.

The increasing heartbeat, the jealousy, the blushing – everything that had conspired. It all made sense to her now. Jihyo had pointed it out and Sana had thought she figured it when she thought about it earlier. But right now, as Nayeon stood in her arms, it wasn’t what she thought it was.

Did she say she was falling?

She’d already fallen.


	15. [are we dating?]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mimo focused chapter, unedited

Mina patiently waited for her roommate in their dorm, despite how late it was. Momo hadn’t come home ever since her classes finished and she was extremely worried. The clock on the wall read 2:30am – she should have been back in the dorm at least six hours ago. Of course, if she went out it would’ve been fine but Momo almost always told Mina when she decided to go out for dinner or drinks.

Personally, Mina already had a troublesome day and she really just wanted to get some rest but the worry she had for Momo wouldn’t let her rest in peace.

Ever since the time that Momo had gotten sick, the two of them had grown a lot closer and ate out often. They were dates, weren’t they? At least, that’s what Mina thought of them. However, now that Momo was disappearing without a reason, Mina felt like maybe she just overthought about whatever had been going on between the past months.

What if to Momo, it was just casual friendly lunches and dinners? Mina groaned at the possibility of embarrassing herself. She hadn’t seen Momo all day today – getting too caught up with a big problem during her break time to meet up with her which they’d agreed on. It had taken up her entire free hour and Mina’s messages of apologies were left unanswered.

The big problem that had taken up all of her time?

A boy in her cohort had decided to confess to her in front of a huge crowd and Mina hadn’t had the heart to reject him where everyone could hear him. She had to pull him aside to say she wasn’t interested, yet he still persisted that he was the best person for her to date. Mina had never been so disgusted in her life as much as she had when he said that.

She shuddered as she recalled the incident, wanting to erase it from existence. Mina was extremely thankful that Seulgi, a group mate of hers, had been near when that had happened, rescuing her from the scene.

By the time she had gotten back to her room, thanking Seulgi, it had passed the time she was meant to meet Momo. She messaged her immediately but after receiving no reply from her roommate, Mina gave up and headed to her last class for the day.

A part of her felt like it was her fault that Momo was out this late. A part of her felt extremely guilty and frustrated with herself. She sincerely hoped this wouldn’t turn on her, like when she had avoided Momo months ago. Momo was too kind hearted to do such a thing. She was sweet and gentle and always taking care of Mina, even dropping her off to her classes and picking her up when she had just finished classes.

Momo, who got worried when Mina was a minute late coming out of her classroom.

Momo, who ran to Mina each time she screamed about a bug in their room.

Momo would never be the one to avoid Mina – she’d be selfless and ignore everything else around her when it came to her. Though, Mina had told her countless times to care about herself more; it had only fallen on deaf ears. Now, was her worry understandable?

She was grumbling on her own when she heard the door open. Mina jumped out of her seat by the kitchen, releasing a sigh of relief as Momo entered their dorm room. However, Mina wasn’t expecting Tzuyu with her, who had Momo’s arm around her shoulders.

That’s when Mina smelt it.

The sickening smell of alcohol that filled up the entire room.

At most, Momo would only drink for a little bit, not come back wasted, having to be delivered by someone else.

“Can you get this heavy weight off me?” Tzuyu grumbled at the entrance, indicating to Momo.

Mina nodded, quickly walking towards Momo, only to be pushed away by her roommate. She let out a heavy sigh at Momo’s actions, not knowing why she was behaving this way.

“I–can you just put her on the bed?” Mina pointed to Momo’s bed.

Tzuyu rolled her eyes, but agreed, pulling Momo towards her bed, before dropping her like a sack of potatoes. Mina heard Momo’s grumbles of annoyance but she quietened down just as fast.

“Thank you for bringing her here.” Mina turned towards Tzuyu, who was starting to look uncomfortable in their room.

Tzuyu nodded, heading out the door before Mina called out to her again.

“Wait, just – can I ask you something? Do you know why she was drinking so much? She never usually takes in this much alcohol.” Mina nervously asked.

Tzuyu hesitated for a moment and Mina knew that she knew the reason behind Momo’s behaviour. She knew why Momo had drunk so much, enough to make her wasted. She knew why Momo had pushed Mina away when she touched her – Mina had seen the look in Tzuyu’s eyes.

“I’m not friends with her.” Tzuyu shook her head.

“I didn’t ask if you were, and I wasn’t implying it either. You were there when she was drunk. And I know you know why she came home reeking like someone poured a whole gallon of beer on her.” Mina growled, closing the distance between herself and Tzuyu.

For the first time, Mina had seen Tzuyu scared of someone, and that was because of herself.

“Look, I’m sorry for coming off so strong. I’m just worried for her.” Mina apologised, rubbing her hand across her arm.

Tzuyu looked at her again, tilting her head as she observed Mina.

“She just had a bad day. She didn’t want to bother you.” Tzuyu answered as Mina relaxed her shoulders. She feared there was a worse scenario.

Mina looked towards Momo’s sleeping figure, frown present on her face as she assessed her. What could have been so bad, that Momo pushed her away? Was it her apology that came too late? She wished she could tell what was going on in Momo’s head. Mina hadn’t wanted to hurt her but with the way Momo was reacting to her, it was clear that Mina had done something.

Unless…

“Did she perhaps see me with Jiro earlier?” Mina turned to Tzuyu again, seeing her gulp under her gaze.

“Look, it’s not fair if I tell you what happened. I just came here to drop her off. She blabbered a lot in her drunken state, so I can’t even remember half of what she said. She was just alone in the club, and I was just looking out for her. She’s Dahyun’s friend, after all.” Tzuyu walked back, not wanting to say anything of what Momo had spilled during the night.

“Thank you, Tzuyu. I know you didn’t do it just for Dahyun.” Mina smiled towards the awkward girl who was taken aback by her judgement. “You looked out for her because you care. I’m thankful for that. Do you need me to call Dahyun for you? Or are you okay to get back to your room? Do you want a cup of coffee?”

“I’m fine. Thank you for offering.” Tzuyu sheepishly answered, rubbing the back of her neck. She was about to leave the room when she decided to say one thing before she left – just to ease Mina’s mind. “I just wanted to say… if you like her, let her know. It will hurt you both even more if you don’t clear out your relationship.”

And with that, Tzuyu had left the room, leaving Mina to think about what she had just said.

It was true that Mina and Momo hadn’t specified what their relationship was. Judging from what Tzuyu had said, Momo was worried about where they stood. Momo must have seen Mina with Jiro. That was not a pleasing sight to someone, especially if you were hanging out with them so often, it seemed like dates.

It was miscommunication on both of their parts. Neither of them had specified that they were taking each other out on dates, and now Momo was clearly hurt because of their situation. Mina sighed heavily, feeling annoyed again. That stupid Jiro had to ruin everything between them. But, she also knew that she had to talk to Momo about this. They had to clear out their relationship before it was completely ruined.

\---

Momo woke up to a pounding headache and a lack of memory of what had happened the night before. She recalled taking shot after shot and then Tzuyu’s concerned face was in the middle of it. How had she gotten back to the dorm?

She groaned, her throat feeling extremely hoarse. Her feet had just touched the floor, when a bottle of water was handed to her, along with a set of aspirin. Momo squinted, nodding gratefully and taking the items off Mina.

Wait, Mina?!

She’d pushed her away last night when she tried to help her get to her bed. Momo almost cried out in embarrassment.

“Make sure you finish at least half of that bottle of water.” Mina scolded. “Shower too. You reek of alcohol.”

Mina walked away, leaving Momo sitting on her bed. She looked at the bottle in her hands, whining when she realised it was a whole litre.

Sulking, she listened to what Mina had asked of her, finishing her water and heading towards the shower. This was already the second time Mina had cared for her and the embarrassment was really sinking in.

She was welcomed with the lovely smell of food when she exited the bathroom, feeling déjà vu. Momo remembered the amazing cooking Mina had made last time and she basically ran to the kitchen table.

“Before you eat, I just wanted to tell you that I’m sorry. And, we need to talk after you eat.” Mina sighed, handing Momo a bowl, who looked confused with the apology.

In a matter of minutes, Momo had finished her food, standing in front of Mina with a proud grin that she just wanted to wipe off.

“What did you want to talk about?” Momo asked.

“Yesterday… what happened?” Mina jumped straight into it.

Momo’s smile faltered. “What do you mean?”

“You coming home drunk late at night and not telling me you went out. I’m sorry for not being able to eat lunch with you. I thought we established a message-if-you’re-going-out policy.” Mina crossed her arms.

“I–um. I just needed a little time to myself.” Momo tried to find an excuse.

“That’s why Tzuyu brought you home and told me everything?” Mina raised her eyebrows at Momo.

Momo panicked.

Tzuyu had told her everything?

“Wait–it’s not like that. I was just jealous of Jiro and I didn’t want to seem like I was imposing on a possibility of you two being together even though I like you. I know it was just me thinking of our outings as dates.” Momo struggled to put together a reasoning.

“What?”

“What?”

“You thought of them as dates too!”

“Yes, I’m sorry, wait–too?!”

Momo froze upon hearing that Mina thought of their outings as dates. Oh god, had Mina even known all of what she had just said, or did Momo spill all of her feelings.

“Didn’t Tzuyu tell you everything?” Momo gasped

“I meant… like the drinking on your own. But let’s not get back there. We’re a mess. I thought of them as dates.” Mina groaned, hiding her face in her hands.

“I thought of them as dates too… until yesterday when I saw you with Jiro.” Momo pointed out.

“He confessed to me, but I rejected him. It took me my entire break time so I couldn’t meet you.” Mina explained.

“Oh my god. I’m so stupid.” Momo growled.

“No! I think it was just not clear.” Mina quickly denied Momo’s claims.

“So, we went on dates.”

“Yes.”

“Are we dating?”

“Well, if you ask…”

“Shoot, of course.”

Mina giggled at Momo’s nervousness, placing a hand over hers.

“We need to work on our communication, but will you date this fool?” Momo chuckled, pointing to herself for emphasis.

“I think, I’d very much like that, as long as you’re okay dating this fool.” Mina smiled as Momo pulled her into her warm embrace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> @likeuwuahh on twitter


	16. [you feel the same way?]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> pls don't kill me

Nayeon knew things were going to be awkward way beforehand. She considered it before they kissed. She considered it as soon as Sana had proclaimed that she wanted to be Romeo. And, it was clear as day now, that it was not only awkward, but filled with tension.

When the duo returned back to their dorm room, they’d completely avoided talking to each other, only making conversation if they accidentally bumped into each other. Maybe it was because they were more aware of each other, but there was a lot more of colliding into each other, which led to both of them being a blushing mess.

While Nayeon was focused on their awkwardness, Sana was feeling extremely shy and overwhelmed with her newly found feelings. Every time she was around her roommate, she barely managed to utter a sentence because all she remembered was the way she kissed her, back when they’d practiced for the Romeo and Juliet script. She couldn’t even look her in the eyes; but at least Sana felt a sense of relief knowing Nayeon was going through the same thing.

The more she observed her, the more Sana saw the lies that were laced in her friend’s accusations. Though, Sana had yet to see Nayeon pursue anyone and she was honestly extremely curious for the reason.

Nayeon was gorgeous.

Like, jaw-dropping, heart-racing, butterfly inducing gorgeous.

It made Sana feel a little bit self-conscious, if she were to be honest. Sure, Nayeon had complimented her that had left her speechless, but Sana couldn’t really help herself.

“Hey, I’m going to go out for a while.” Nayeon announced all of a sudden, leaving Sana behind in the quietness of their empty dorm room.

Sana looked at the door for a few more moments, grumbling about the sudden disappearance but flopping back on to her bed. She took her freedom to rest her mind which has been going in overdrive ever since they’d returned. Actually, she really could do with a talk with Mina but that would require her to get out of bed and she was way too comfortable–

Someone knocked on the door and Sana groaned loudly. She was awfully comfortable right now, she didn’t want to leave the bed. The knocking got more persistent and Sana’s irritation grew as she stomped towards the door, swinging it open and ready to give the person hell, only to see Nayeon standing on the other side.

Great.

Sana was once again, speechless and a gay mess.

Why? Well, it seemed like Nayeon was in a rush as she stood at the door, hair slightly ruffled, running her tongue across her bottom lip.

“Nayeon?” Sana frowned as Nayeon attempted to catch her breath, holding the side of the door.

“You…” Nayeon mumbled.

Sana tilted her head, still confused with what Nayeon was trying to get across to her. She left in a hurry, but she returned just as fast. Did that mean she was just trying to run away from Sana’s presence?

“Do you have any idea how tortured I’ve been ever since we’ve come back here?” Nayeon huffed, leaning closer towards Sana, who shuffled back in reflex. “I can’t even sleep without thinking about everything that happened. You invaded my mind so much, you’re all I even think about.” She grumbled.

“H-huh?” Sana stuttered, gripping the edge of the counter. She was feeling overwhelmed with the sudden decreased distance between them, breathing increasing in pace as Nayeon’s gaze on her stripped it away from her.

“You think I haven’t noticed it either? The way you look at me? The way you’ve been looking at me when you think I’m not looking? Or, the way you blush when you realise my eyes are on you? It’s not hard to miss.” Nayeon continued to inch closer to Sana, resting her arms on her waist.

“You feel the same way?” Sana’s searched Nayeon’s eyes for the answer she was looking to hear. She saw the playful glint in her eyes and for a moment, Sana might have doubted Nayeon’s intentions since she walked through the door of their dorm room.

“Do you think I’d do this if I didn’t?” Nayeon asked sincerely, cupping Sana’s right cheek with her left hand, brushing her thumb across her cheekbones. The progress of her worries was momentarily halted with her words.

Sana’s breath hitched as Nayeon slid her hand down to the base of her neck, massaging softly. A groan escaped her lips at the feel and she opened her eyes when she heard a chuckle leave Nayeon’s lips. There it was again. That look in her eyes like she was playing with Sana’s heart. Like, she was going to crush it. But Sana pushed it away, assuming that she was letting her friend’s words cloud her mind again.

“Can I kiss you, Sana?” Nayeon’s husky voice brought Sana out of her reverie.

Sana blushed, closing her eyes as Nayeon moved to close the distance between them.

However, instead of receiving the kiss that she was expecting, she held her reddening cheeks.

“Ouch!” Sana screamed in pain.

“What the hell are you doing?” Mina shouted at her best friend.

Mina?

“Mina!?” Sana squealed, standing up straight while being on the receiving end of Mina’s deadly glare.

“Are you out of your mind? Or maybe are you sick?” Mina furrowed her eyebrows, checking Sana’s temperature by resting her palm against her forehead.

“I’m fine!” Sana shook her head, pulling Mina’s hand away and making her sit beside her. God, that was embarrassing. Had she really just imagined kissing Nayeon? She’d made up and entire scenario about her roommate and herself, oh dear.

The red on her cheeks darkened as she thought of what had just happened. She just wanted to crawl into a ball and hide. And Sana knew that she wasn’t going to get out of talking about it with Mina either, as she smirked at Sana’s reaction to her.

“Mmm. I think there’s a lot of talking we both need to do.” Mina chuckled, making Sana whine.

\---

When Nayeon had left her dorm room in a hurry, she wasted no time rushing to Momo’s room. It was just way too tense staying around Sana at the moment and Nayeon was scared. She was incredibly scared that she would do something she’d regret (like kiss her) and she couldn’t risk doing that. So, to avoid that possibility, she decided to visit her best friend and maybe eat out, get some of her worries out to her because bottling it in was doing her no good.

Knocking on Momo’s room door, Nayeon received no response, so she simply assumed that she’d fallen asleep instead. Of course, she’d been given a room key. Both herself and Sana had one, but they really never had to use it because one of the two were in there. And, usually Nayeon messaged beforehand so Momo was aware she was arriving. The situation was dire and Nayeon had forgotten.

Turning the key in the lock, she walked inside the room, severely caught off guard by the sight before her. Nayeon really wasn’t expecting to walk in on Mina sitting on Momo’s lap, kissing her like her life depended on it.

When had that even happened? Last she knew, Momo was still pining over Mina like a lost puppy. She cleared her throat, hoping to catch the attention of either of the two girls who still had yet to be aware of Nayeon’s presence in the room.

She saw the panic flash across Momo’s eyes as she finally noticed Nayeon, almost pushing Mina off her lap as a reflex. Mina, who was clearly taken aback by Momo pulling back from the kiss, was about to question her, deciding to follow her girlfriend’s gaze. Mina blushed profusely, hiding her face in the crook of Momo’s neck as she was held against her tightly.

“Do you not know how to knock?!” Momo growled at her best friend as she almost had a seizure upon seeing someone walk in on her and Mina. She threw a shoe at Nayeon, who managed to duck in time.

“For your information, I _did_ knock. It’s not my fault you didn’t hear me because you were… doing whatever you were doing.” Nayeon scowled.

She almost snickered as she saw Momo’s puppy eyes that she was giving Mina, wishing for her to stay as she moved off Momo’s lap.

“I’ll go visit Sana. You guys need to talk. I think I should probably tell her we’re dating too.” Mina chuckled, placing a kiss on Momo’s cheek as she sulked.

“Sorry about that.” Mina apologised to Nayeon as she walked towards the door.

“Ah, nothing to apologise for. I’m sorry for ruining your night together.” Nayeon awkwardly responded.

“It was a good thing. Hopefully, whatever is causing you trouble can be settled soon.” Mina teased Nayeon, who was successfully shy.

As Mina left, Nayeon sighed, jumping on the couch. “You guys didn’t…?”

“Not yet, jesus!” Momo shouted, smacking Nayeon’s head with a pillow.

“So, how long has that been going on for?” Nayeon asked, grabbing a bag of chips from the table.

“A week, not that you came to talk to me about my love life. What’s going on with you and Sana?” Momo retorted.

“I think I’m screwed.” Nayeon sighed heavily. “All that effort over the last month of school, literally went down the drain Momo. And it’s all because of being roommates and acting together and having to kiss her because it was part of the damn script.”

“Wait, you kissed?!” Momo smacked her friend’s arm. “Why was I not told?”

Nayeon raised an eyebrow at her best friend. As if she was told of Momo and Mina’s relationship. If she hadn’t walked in on the two of them, god knows when she’d be told.

“Alright. Okay. So, you caught the feelings.” Momo clarified.

“I caught the feelings.” Nayeon groaned, hiding her face in her hands. “And you already know she hated me in high school. I don’t know what to do about it. I can’t act on them. Even if it feels like she might return my feelings, it seems like it’s impossible. I don’t know what to do. We’re so awkward. There’s endless tension between us. We can’t even hold a conversation anymore.”

“Do you think keeping your feelings locked away, will help? Obviously, there’s something brewing between you two. We saw it as soon as you moved in. Would you rather lose another possibility of getting together with Sana after everything you went through in school? This is your chance. If you don’t want to tell her directly, try to hint at it. See if she picks up on it. Nayeon. How long are you going to run away from your feelings? How long are you not going to prioritise yourself first? Maybe the first time, things didn’t go well. Maybe it wasn’t meant to be, then. But now, you have a golden chance. You are purposely possibly letting go of this opportunity resting in your hands. Are you going to be okay with that?” Momo advised, wishing for her to get the point she was trying to get across.

Nayeon sighed heavily as she thought about everything Momo had said. It was a good chance for her to make a move. She had to stop thinking of the ‘what ifs’ and do something about her feelings instead. She looked up to Momo, seeing her watch her with curiosity.

For a moment, she closed her eyes.

She thought about a possibility.

The possibility.

Would Sana be happy, if she did say she reciprocated her feelings?

Sana was worth it. Nayeon knew that, at least.

“I’ll do it. I’ll confess.” Nayeon nodded, earning herself an encouraging hug from Momo.

“You can do it. I know you can.” Momo smiled widely, making Momo smile too.

Her phone buzzed beside her, along with Momo’s.

An incoming call from her father.

Nayeon frowned as she answered her father’s phone call.

“Sweetie? Are you there?”

“Dad? Is everything okay?”

“…”

“Dad?”

“Sweetie, mom’s been in an accident.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> @likeuwuahh on twitterrr


	17. [i'm done with you]

Momo was the one who wanted to take Nayeon back home to see her mother but Nayeon had denied her offer, not wanting to hassle her when it was almost exam session. Of course, she wanted Momo to come along but now was not a good time.

“I promise I’ll message you when I get there. Don’t worry about anything, okay? Make sure you study!” Nayeon scolded Momo as she left her room.

Nayeon didn’t stop by her dorm, instead, she rushed home as soon as she left Momo. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to stay longer to tell Sana, Nayeon was just too panicked in her state of mind that she just needed to see her mother first. Her siblings would also be alone and her dad would be stressed over her mom, so Nayeon needed to step up to be the strong one at the moment. She really hoped that it wasn’t a big accident and that her mother would pull through. She’s a strong woman.

She could take a breather.

It wasn’t a big accident.

Nayeon walked into the hospital fearing the worst due to her father’s call. But she was extremely relieved to hear that her mother had just fractured her foot.

“Hey sweetie.” Nayeon’s mother greeted her with a tired smile.

Nayeon’s eyes watered upon the sight of her mother being so weak. She was so used to the strong figure that it broke her heart seeing her on the hospital bed looking _so_ defeated. She reached out to hold her hand and her mother wiped away Nayeon’s tears, scolding her for making her cry too. Her siblings were asleep on a chair in the corner of the room and her father was currently out in the cafeteria.

“I’m sorry to bring you back.” She apologised. Nayeon shook her head. She didn’t need an apology. She wanted to be here with her mother no matter how big the injury was.

“I’ll take care of things. You don’t worry at all, okay? I’m going to be here with you all.” Nayeon smiled, kissing her mother’s forehead.

Her injury would just make things complicated for things around their home, including her siblings. She was the one dropping them at school and their father was busy. So, it would have to be Nayeon to be the one to drop them now. The only thing was that Nayeon had to travel between college and home which meant she was really busy and never really in the dorm room.

Not only that, sitting through lectures was also too difficult for her and when she attended her classes, she just sat at the back and bolted as soon as it was done. Thankfully, Lena was sweet enough to be writing notes for Nayeon.

It wasn’t like Nayeon told her about everything out of the blue. She bumped into Lena when she was heading towards the hospital – it was a weird sight. Lena had pointed out about not seeing Nayeon in classes and that’s where Nayeon told her everything about her duties. From there, Lena made a copy of the notes from the lectures they shared and handed them to her after classes. She never stayed long enough to talk to anyone else, even Momo.

Though, Momo was constantly blowing up Nayeon’s phone when she was done with her exams. She already knew the condition wasn’t serious but it was Nayeon that Momo was worried about more. Nayeon rarely cared about her own wellbeing when someone else was sick or injured in the family and it really frustrated Momo.

“You really need to make sure you eat. Isn’t Jaebum able to cook? I’m going to message him to get some sense into you. Also, have you talked to Sana at all lately? You were meant to tell her about your situation because you weren’t in the dorm.” Momo scolded Nayeon over the phone.

Sana.

Oh god, Nayeon had forgotten to tell her all about it. She’d been so busy with everything that she hadn’t talked to the one person it was most important to talk to.

\---

Mina was extremely worried for Sana. The girl was walking around like a ghost, not eating and barely getting enough sleep for her to stay awake in her classes. She was absolutely exhausted. It was a complete turn-around from the day she returned from her trip with Nayeon and her other group mates. And the worst thing about all of this was that Sana wasn’t even opening up to Mina. She hadn’t said a single word about everything that had happened and now, it seemed like it was going to be even harder.

But, Mina never failed in anything – and she wouldn’t fail in getting Sana to talk about what’s eating her alive at the moment.

“That’s it. I’ve had enough.” Mina growled at Sana, who was absentmindedly staring outside. “You need to tell me what’s wrong. Stop keeping it inside.”

Sana shook her head, not able to voice what she was feeling.

“Can you at least tell me what it’s about? Is it about your group work?” Mina tried to get through to her.

Sana flinched and Mina knew she was heading down the right path. If it was about her group work, then it would definitely be about Nayeon.

“So, Nayeon?” Mina sighed, turning to face her best friend. “What is it? I thought things were okay? You told me that you weren’t believing your friend’s words anymore and Nayeon was really a sweet person.”

Sana sniffled and Mina’s frown deepened. Just what had happened to make her feel like this, because of Nayeon? Sana was _actually_ upset with her roommate which was different from the start, when she tried to be mad at Nayeon. Mina hated seeing Sana like this because it reminded her of the time of Sana’s senior year.

“I was the one who assumed that she changed, but I’m the one who regrets believing that now.” Sana laughed. “She just disappeared. Out of nowhere. Gave me hope and then dashed out, playing with my feelings.”

Mina’s anger grew as Sana spoke. How can someone treat a person like that after giving them hope? How can you trample on someone’s feelings like it’s just trash?

“Mina? Hey?” Sana held Mina by her shoulders in an attempt to get her attention again. “Don’t you dare do anything! I can see the wheels turning in your head.”

“I’m just surprised that she’s heartless after all. I’m going to talk to Momo about it.” Mina grumbled.

“It’s my fault for being so trusting, again. I don’t know why I can love so easily. I don’t know why I cause myself this pain, falling for people who don’t care.” Sana smiled bitterly.

She really thought that Nayeon was different. Actually, maybe it was that she _wanted_ to believe that Nayeon was different. After the entire semester, they managed to survive as roommates, even acting together and moving past their immaturity, Sana had some high hopes for their relationship. But perhaps that was Sana’s biggest fault.

Maybe she had too much hope in someone who couldn’t live up to.

Maybe, she was too trusting.

\---

Momo wasn’t expecting an angry Mina when she walked into their shared dorm room. Her glaring terrified her and Momo didn’t even know the reason.

She replied to all of Mina’s messages as soon as she could.

She drank at least a full bottle of water every day.

She studied for her tests and was now waiting for her results.

Had she forgotten something in the midst of worrying over Nayeon and her mother and her end of semester exams?

“H-hi?” Momo stammered as she neared Mina.

If her aura could be visualised, it would be screaming swirls of red and orange.

And then she smiled so sickeningly, gesturing for Momo to sit beside her. Momo could feel her own palms beginning to sweat in fear of what was to come. Mina had the ability to switch her personality like the flick of a switch.

“Where the hell is Nayeon? Why has she abandoned Sana like she doesn’t care about her after everything that happened?” Mina growled, feeling overprotective of her best friend.

“Wait. What? You’re not angry at me?” Momo attempted to clear out their misunderstanding.

Mina’s face softened upon hearing Momo’s questions. She hadn’t meant to come across as critical of Momo but she even assumed that Mina was angry at her – this was a messy situation.

“I’m sorry Momo. I’m not angry at you. I didn’t mean for you to think that I was.” Mina mumbled, placing her hand over Momo’s as she focused on their hands. “It’s just that I just came back from talking to Sana and she was upset and it rubbed off on me too. I didn’t mean to make you feel like it was you at fault.”

Momo was silent for a few moments and it doubled Mina’s guilt.

“I didn’t take it that way. Despite thinking that I might have done something to upset you, isn’t that normal? You felt the same way when I was tired and didn’t talk to you. Sometimes we just need to talk it out more and we’re getting there. Don’t hold back on what you’re feeling. If we don’t communicate, won’t things get messy?” Momo chuckled, kissing Mina’s forehead tenderly. “Now, what is this about Nayeon and Sana? I thought Nayeon talked to her?”

Mina took in Momo’s words of communication first, nodding and agreeing to whatever she said. Communication was key. Continuing on, she referred back to her conversation to Sana. “No, she didn’t. Sana’s been emotionally detached for the past week at least. I thought she’d talk to me about it, but she didn’t so I pushed her to talk today. Apparently Nayeon ghosted on her, not even coming to the dorm room and it came off right when they were going further with their relationship? I know Nayeon likes Sana and Sana likes Nayeon, so I don’t understand.”

“It wouldn’t be my place to say, but Nayeon was meant to talk to Sana about everything, I guess she got side-tracked. A lot has been going on...”

\---

Nayeon nervously fumbled with the keys to her dorm room as she attempted to unlock it. In all honesty, she didn’t know what to expect from Sana when she opened the door. Maybe she didn’t care about Nayeon’s random disappearance. Maybe, her hinted feelings were ignored before everything had happened with her mother.

Slowly, she opened the door, letting out a sigh of relief when she saw Sana in the kitchen, back facing Nayeon. She crept towards her bed and dropped her bag before sitting down.

“Seriously? Coming in after a week and not saying anything?” Sana’s disappointed voice echoed through Nayeon’s ears, catching her off guard.

“What?” Nayeon failed to form a proper response.

“I really thought you cared, you know? I tried to not let my friend’s words repeat in my head. I thought she was wrong. But I was hoping for too much.” Sana chuckled.

Nayeon had no idea where Sana was going with their conversation. However, she saw the sadness in Sana’s eyes as she approached her, leaving the kitchen.

“You never really changed. You’re heartless, just like in high school. You don’t care about anyone’s feelings. You just toy with whoever you want to, lead them on and then abandon them.” Sana accused.

Each sentence tore a piece of Nayeon’s heart. What was Sana saying? She never did anything like that in her life.

“I want you to leave this room. I want you to leave this room and I don’t want to see you again. You had time to meet other girls, but no time to talk to me? To me, it looked like you liked me but then you disappeared. Did it make you happy? Are you happy that you made me fall for you? You continued to play me along and I foolishly chased after you like a cat running after yarn.” Sana paused. “I’m done with you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> love you guys, don't kill me :D (you're welcome to, though - i would too)  
> @likeuwuahh on twitter


	18. [rules are still rules]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> unedited

Nayeon was taken aback by Sana’s outburst. She had walked into the room to explain herself but she was being kicked out of their room instead. Had Sana even spoken to the secretary about changing roommates? She couldn’t just pull Nayeon out of the room whenever she pleased. They already tried to split when they moved in for the first time.

She moved forward but Sana pulled back, pointing at the red tape on their room floor. “Stay back. Rules are still rules.”

A snicker almost left Nayeon’s lips. Was Sana really going to be like this right now? When they actually needed to talk? “Is it what you want?” Nayeon asked, fisting her hand as she tried to calm herself. “You don’t want to listen to any reasoning I have?”

Sana scoffed and crossed her arms. “Do you really think I’ll make the same mistake twice to trust your words? I meant it the first time I said it.”

“I’m still going to be in your classes. And we’re still going to be working on the project.” Nayeon pointed out, trying to salvage her relationship, or what was left with it.

“I’ll find another class. I can’t have you messing with my head. I can’t have you here. You say one thing but don’t keep up with what you say. I know we didn’t talk about what was going on between us when we returned, but why do I feel like a fool?” Sana sighed. “I–just, when you were meant to be here, you weren’t. So, please, just leave.”

Nayeon shook her head, distraught because of their situation. She came back to clear things. She came back to finally confess because Momo had encouraged it, and slapped her in the face with situations that she didn’t want to be in. Sana wasn’t even willing to hear her out.

“Let me just–”

“Nayeon, I’m pleading with you. Don’t. I haven’t talked to the secretary yet, but I’ll do it later.” Sana stopped Nayeon from explaining herself.

Nayeon nodded, backing away. Even with Sana’s confession of falling for Nayeon, she felt utterly hurt with the assumption that she was the same as she was in high school.

It hurt her because she _still_ didn’t know what Sana saw in her that made her hate her so much.

It hurt her that even though the person she’s liked for years, liked her back, it didn’t matter.

It hurt her that Sana wasn’t even willing to hear an explanation from her.

If Sana liked her like she said, wouldn’t she be wanting to hear her out, at least?

Sana didn’t want anything to do with her. Nayeon still pined after her. Their story was almost as tragic as Romeo and Juliet.

This was the end of their rocky relationship.

“Don’t go the secretary. I’ll go and talk to her. It was a rollercoaster ride being your roommate Minatozaki Sana. I don’t know what happened in high school that made you hate me so much, but I’m sorry for whatever I did. It was great knowing you, and yes, you can ignore me when I say this. I fell for you long before you fell for me.” Nayeon confessed, wiping away the stray tear that made its way down her cheek before Sana could see it.

She could see the swirls of emotions in Sana’s eyes, but Nayeon didn’t want to stay for longer. She didn’t want to be drawn back to the same honey coloured eyes that drew her in, years ago. For a moment, she thought Sana might have wanted to say something but Nayeon pushed herself to not falter, walking out of the door of their shared dorm.

\---

As soon as Nayeon left the dorm, banging the door shut, Sana cried. She fell against her bed, pulling up her knees and hiding her face between.

She broke down.

She didn’t want to show such a front to Nayeon. She didn’t want to say any of what she just did. She honestly saw Nayeon as the person she met at college, not the one her friend had told her about in high school. But, it was easier on her heart for her to listen to her mind. To reason, that building something with Nayeon was impossible.

Sana almost gave in there. Almost believed what she said about falling for her already. But Sana knew better than to believe in someone who’s lied before. She knew better than to trust someone who just disappeared out of nowhere, without a word.

She tried to ignore the image of how Nayeon’s smile dropped as soon as Sana had spoken of making her leave the room. She tried to ignore Nayeon’s pleading tone, wanting her to just give her a chance to explain herself.

She didn’t want to hear Nayeon’s reasoning.

She didn’t want to waver.

Sana knew that if she listened, if she let Nayeon explain, she would believe her.

It was better off this way, where her heart would be protected and blocked away from getting hurt ever again.

\---

Nayeon was defeated. Her posture screamed it.

Her sagged shoulders.

Her red nose from crying.

Her exhausted facial features.

As she walked to the secretary, she tried to convince herself that it was the right thing to do. Nayeon was listening to what Sana wanted, what they’d both benefited out of. She’d been a fool to believe that Sana would accept her love. She’d been a fool to think of confessing.

She couldn’t get it out of her mind. She couldn’t make sense of their situation.

Sana liked her.

Nayeon liked Sana.

What was left to be unsaid? They liked each other. They already moved forward in forgetting about whatever happened in high school but Sana seemed to be the one to hold on tightly. She wasn’t letting go and it had successfully ruined any hope of them being together.

Nayeon tried to understand. She tried to think of things through Sana’s perspective. It was so perplexing. Was Sana trying to protect someone? Herself? What other reason could she have to be so against dating Nayeon? She’d only ever tried to prove that she was a regular girl, with a regular lifestyle. It frustrated her that months later, she still didn’t know what Sana’s problem was. She wanted to know what was driving Sana away from her grasp.

Arriving at the secretary’s office, Nayeon hesitated as she stood at the door. Once she did this, it couldn’t be reversed. She’d be moving out of Sana’s dorm and would never be able to step in it again. Was it worth it to go this far?

If one of the two of them were happy, would it be okay?

\---

When Sana knocked on Mina’s door with puffy eyes, her best friend pulled her inside without a second to waste. She shooed Momo out of the room, having an inkling that it was about Nayeon, _again_. Honestly, she hoped it was good news. The two were slower than Momo’s awareness of Mina’s liking for her, and that was saying something.

Mina, however, was caught off-guard when Sana cried in her arms instead. They definitely weren’t tears of happiness that Sana was shedding. Hadn’t Nayeon explained herself? Or had she gone and broken Sana’s heart instead? She told Momo to get her to fix things, not ruin them all over again. Mina sighed as she comforted Sana.

She was used to seeing Sana being happy and cheery. This continuous streak of Sana crying in her arms was hurting Mina too. The only time Sana had ever cried this hard was when she missed Mina’s play performance in high school that she promised to go to. Just what had Nayeon done to make Sana cry so hard and so much over the span of a whole week?

“Hey, what’s wrong? Why are you crying so much Sana? Talk to me.” Mina encouraged Sana to speak her feelings, rubbing her back to quieten her cries.

“… Nayeon… screaming… moved out… I hate her.”

Mina struggled to make sense of what Sana was saying through her loud sobbing.

“Nayeon screamed at you to move out?” Mina attempted to decode what she just heard.

Sana shook her head, sniffling as she tried to stop her crying to explain. “I told her to leave.”

“Why would you do that? I thought you accepted that you like her!” Mina gasped, not understanding her best friend’s mind. “Please, don’t tell me you’re still hung up on what your friend said in high school.”

“Our friend.” Sana defended.

“She’s no friend of mine. She was a liar and she was manipulative. I don’t know how you never saw that.” Mina grumbled. She didn’t want to think about that girl again.

“Maybe it is about what she said. Mina, Nayeon left me and didn’t even give me a reason why. She told me she loves me but then why did she leave me, without saying anything? Through her actions, it seemed like she liked me, I agree – but then she disappeared out of the blue. That’s _exactly_ what I was told in high school.” Sana justified her actions.

“Did she not even explain herself?” Mina raised her eyebrows. She knew Sana didn’t like listening to explanations – something she still struggled to deal with today.

“Well, I didn’t want to hear it.” Sana shrugged.

“Are you serious? You like this person, and you don’t even let them explain themselves. Are you crazy?” Mina scolded Sana. How could she act this way to someone she liked?

“I didn’t want to be swayed with her words.” Sana offered a meek response.

Mina could’ve laughed at Sana’s answer. Nayeon was so busy taking care of her mother and siblings – Sana couldn’t even give her a chance to explain. For a moment, she was extremely agitated with Sana’s behaviour towards her roommate.

“I can’t believe you.” Mina shook her head. She was disappointed.

“I did nothing wrong! I wanted to protect my heart from pain!” Sana argued.

“No, Sana. If you cared about her, if you liked her, you would have listened. You wouldn’t have been rash in kicking her out.” Mina countered. “If you’d listened to her, you would have known that she’s been extremely busy because her mother was in a car accident. You would’ve known that she’s meeting Lena because she’s picking up notes. All you had to do was let her explain.”

“Accident?” Sana paled upon hearing Mina’s words. “How do you know all of this?”

“I talk to my girlfriend. That’s what you do when you think something isn’t right, you know? You don’t jump to conclusions. I did the same and I feel extremely guilty. Because you were so upset the entire week, I basically scared my girlfriend into thinking she’d done something wrong because I assumed something that was incorrect. Fix this Sana.” Mina smacked some sense into her best friend.

Sana scrambled from her spot, jumping out of her seat. “You’re right, I’m an idiot. I shouldn’t have let someone else’s words blind me when I saw that Nayeon wasn’t what she said she was.”

“Go get her.” Mina smiled, pushing Sana out of her door. She prayed that it would work out between them two.

\---

Sana bolted through the corridors of the dorm she resided at. She smacked into people, apologising as she continued to run forward, hoping to get to Nayeon before she left their shared dorm.

God, she felt like a complete idiot. She felt like the crappiest person to be alive. How could she be so insincere and heartless? How could she be so blinded by someone else’s words that she let it overpower how much she liked Nayeon for who she really was?

She dropped her room keys in a rush to open the door, cursing herself for her shaky hands when she didn’t need them right now.

She froze as she entered.

The room was bare.

All of Nayeon’s things were gone.

Her posters, her utensils, her books, her clothes.

Her side of the room was tidy to the extent that Sana couldn’t see a speck of dust.

The red tape stood out in the gloomy room now, a reminder of Sana’s stupidity.

Sana crouched by her bed yet again, unable to stop herself from crying.

Nayeon had left. Nayeon had left her because Sana had pushed her away.

“Sana? Why are you crying?”

Sana whipped her head around to the bathroom, seeing Nayeon standing there, tilting her head in confusion.

“Sana?” Nayeon waited for a response from the crying girl.

Instead of saying anything, Sana jumped up and ran towards Nayeon, pulling her towards her by the collar of her shirt.

Nayeon was bewildered, not knowing what was Sana was up to. It was a complete turn-around from when she left the room earlier.

Sana smirked as she noticed Nayeon’s dazed out state. Without wasting another second, she tiptoed and pressed her lips to Nayeon’s.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you can find me @likeuwuahh :D


	19. [let's rip it off together]

Nayeon stumbled back, hitting the wall as she regained her lost footing. The shock was still there. She was confused with the change in her behaviour.

Sana was kissing her?

As much as Nayeon wanted to continue kissing Sana, they needed to clear out things first. She felt like she was on a rollercoaster of feelings right now. Hesitantly, she pulled back first, confusion present on Sana’s face.

“One, you crossed the line.” Nayeon pointed out, making Sana look down. Her foot had crossed the red tape. She blushed, clearly embarrassed of the times she’d threatened Nayeon with consequences. “Two, I’m very much confused right now.” She added, covering Sana’s mouth with her hand when she tried to argue. “When I came in here this morning, you were ready to get rid of me and you didn’t even want to hear me out when I tried to explain myself. Why are you kissing me now?”

It was her honest thoughts that Nayeon was trying to express. She was extremely hurt hours ago when Sana had wanted to kick her out but now it was completely opposite.

“I’m sorry, I really am.” Sana apologised, trying to word out an explanation. She was acting on a whim and not even considering things before she went through with them. As a result of her rash behaviour, she’d hurt Nayeon. Sana was still beating herself over not letting Nayeon explain her side the most though. “Honestly, I was being stupid and silly.”

Nayeon tried to cut in to deny it, but Sana already knew that it was true. She acted like a child. She didn’t want to see the good in Nayeon and it was the worst decision of her life. Why did she need to hear it from Mina to see things for how they were? How was she going to make her relationship work if Sana wasn’t even going to be willing to let someone explain their actions?

“From the moment we became roommates, it’s been almost like a rollercoaster ride. Ups and downs, misunderstandings and kind gestures. I didn’t know what to expect anymore. When we were in high school, I had this view of you that you were heartless and uncaring but that changed so fast, it caught me off guard. I couldn’t believe you were the same person.” Sana referred to their past.

“I still don’t know what I did. Why did you dislike me so much? What did I ever do? I never had the courage to talk to you even though I liked you.” Nayeon frowned, awaiting the answer she’d been curious about.

“Do you remember, there was a girl in our year called Hyemi?” Sana revealed the name of her high school friend for the first time.

“Of course, I do. You were always with her.” Nayeon blurted out, blushing moments later. She couldn’t really be blamed when she’d been trying to gain courage to talk to Sana the entire senior year. Obviously Nayeon would notice who Sana was with, her eyes were always on her, but she just never approached her (yes, it’s as tragic as it sounds).

“She was shattered one day when she came over my place after meeting you. Hyemi had asked you if you wanted to go out on a date. She confessed to you and you heartlessly rejected her.” Sana reminded as she waited for an explanation. A part of her was hoping that Hyemi lied and made it all up – a big part of her.

“What? I told her that my heart wasn’t in the right place. I told her that I liked _you_. I gave a proper reason and then she just stormed off. I didn’t just reject her and walk away. That would be the worst thing to do. I didn’t want to have a relationship with someone when I never liked them. That’s what I said to her.” Nayeon was flabbergasted by what she heard. So, the reason why Sana had hated her was because of a lie that arose from Hyemi? The whole scenario was still sinking in her head.

“So… she lied. Mina was right.” Sana mumbled, feeling disappointed in herself.

“If you don’t believe me, you can ask Momo. She was there when Hyemi confessed–”

“No, I believe you.” Sana shook her head as Nayeon wanted to provide more proof. She had more faith in Nayeon than in Hyemi. The more she thought about what Nayeon had said, the more sense it made. Hyemi was always infatuated with Nayeon – she always talked about her, what she was doing, who she was with; it was like an obsession. Of course, if Nayeon had rejected her and she’d been told that Sana was the cause of her rejection, it made sense that Hyemi lied about everything. She manipulated Sana to make her think that Nayeon was the worst person to exist. And as a result, she hurt Nayeon because she blindly believed what her friend had said. “I’m sorry, too.”

Nayeon frowned. She didn’t need an apology from Sana when she wasn’t the one at fault. It was clear that she was being misled from the start. It just hurt her to know that someone took advantage of Sana’s trusting nature to turn it against Nayeon. “You don’t have to apologise.”

“I do. I’ve had this stupid view of you in my head from the start and it’s all because I believed her. Even when I saw it for myself that you were nothing like what she described, I still hesitated and contemplated what Hyemi said. I hurt you. I can’t forgive myself for that.” Sana felt incredibly guilty of her actions.

A sigh escaped Nayeon’s lips and she moved forward to cup Sana’s cheeks in her own hands. She didn’t want Sana feeling like this. She was not at fault. She didn’t need any of this guilt eating at her when the whole mess was because of Hyemi in the first place. Wanting to reassure Sana of the lack of need of an apology, Nayeon placed a gentle kiss on Sana’s forehead.

“This isn’t your fault at all. So, please, don’t blame yourself. Yes, it hurt – I won’t lie. But your behaviour was justified. I don’t want you to hold this against yourself.” Nayeon spoke with confidence. She meant it.

Sana looked up at her with teary eyes and relief washed over Nayeon as she offered her a small smile. Nayeon knew she could widen it further.

“Now, where were we? If I recall, you kissed me earlier.” Nayeon teased. Sana grinned at her and Nayeon wiped away the remnants of her tears. “Wait, why did you kiss me in the first place?”

“Uhh…” Sana blushed in embarrassment as she remembered her conversation with Mina. “Well, I was angry at you for leaving and then went to talk to Mina about it. You could say that she opened my eyes to the truth. I’m sorry I never let you explain yourself.”

“You were trying to protect yourself, I know.” Nayeon smiled at Sana softly. Her eyes shone with love and affection and understanding, overwhelming Sana.

“Stop looking at me like that. I’m going to cry again.” Sana whined, fanning her face.

“Looking at you like what? Like you’re the most cutest person to exist?” Nayeon laughed as Sana groaned, blushing profusely now.

“Stop!” Sana hid her face in her hands.

Nayeon pulled Sana’s hands away from her face, holding them. “I know we’re still figuring things out between us and there’s a lot to do from here. But I know that I want to be with you and have you by my side, officially. I really, really like you. Also, I know you’re completely jealous about Lena, Mina told me a little while ago.” Sana gasped at her friend’s betrayal. “Would you be my girlfriend? You won’t have to worry about Lena and you get me as a bonus.”

Sana giggled at Nayeon’s self-promoting, forgetting about Mina’s betrayal for the time being. She nodded, accepting Nayeon’s proposal. “I like you too. It would be my pleasure being your girlfriend.”

With those mere words, Nayeon could’ve cried. She never expected her feelings to be reciprocated after everything that had happened from high school, to now.

The anger, the pranks, the misunderstandings.

It had turning into happiness and love and cherished memories.

A smile graced Sana’s lips as she pulled Nayeon into a well needed hug.

Im Nayeon was her official girlfriend.

It still sounded weird to her. But this girl in front of her was hers, and that was all Sana needed.

“So, I can kiss you now, right?” Nayeon nervously asked.

“Why? Shying away now?” Sana turned the tables, teasing her girlfriend.

“No… I just want you to be comfortable with everything.” Nayeon embarrassingly admitted. “Isn’t it normal to ask?”

“Were you always this cute?” Sana gushed, pinching Nayeon’s cheeks.

Nayeon slapped Sana’s hands away and rubbed her cheeks, trying to erase the pain. “I just wanted to kiss you, why did you pinch my cheeks!”

“Should I kiss it better?” Sana suggested.

“…”

“Why are you turning so red? Are you sick?” Sana panicked, holding Nayeon’s face in her hands.

Nayeon’s gaze lingered on Sana as she checked her for any signs of sickness. This girl was going to give her a heart attack someday. Her heart was very sensitive when it came to Sana and her flirting wasn’t helping her in the slightest. Someone, please have mercy on her heart.

Wanting to change the owner of the power of the moment, Nayeon used one of Sana’s hands that cradled her face to pull her close. She heard Sana’s breath hitch and a smile formed on Nayeon’s lips.

She induced that reaction.

Without wasting another second, Nayeon kissed her. Sana sank in the embrace, resting her hands on Nayeon’s waist as she brought her hand to cup Sana’s cheek. Nayeon’s kisses were furious and unrelenting, yet Sana matched up to each and every one of them.

Sana was her girlfriend, Nayeon was still trying to let it sink in. Years of loving this girl in front of her where she almost gave up – she was now in Nayeon’s arms. She was now Nayeon’s _girlfriend_.

They stood in the middle of the room, on each other’s side of the red tape.

 “Hey, I think we have one thing left to do, actually.” Nayeon remembered as she pulled back from the kiss, basking in the sight of Sana’s swollen red lips.

In her dazed state, Sana failed to comprehend Nayeon’s sentence. “Huh? I thought we cleared everything out already?”

“I’m talking about the red tape.” Nayeon rolled her eyes. “You know, that weird idea of yours to split the entire dorm?”

“Hey, I was really annoyed with your presence!” Sana defended her use of the item.

“I just showered you with kindness and you declined it all.” Nayeon huffed.

“Kindness? That’s why I ended up eating a toothpaste filled Oreo?” Sana shuddered at the memory of the awful taste.

“If I recall, it was you who challenged me by talking about crossing the red tape! You said there would be consequences!” Nayeon argued.

“It wasn’t a call for pranks.” Sana grumbled, looking down at the line of red.

“Mhmm. I think that brought us together, actually.” Nayeon chuckled, earning a nod of approval from Sana. They hadn’t interacted until Nayeon started the pranks. “Actually, it was my goal from the start. I wanted to get you to talk so I pranked you.”

“You probably regretted it when your assignment was ruined.” Sana giggled, ignoring Nayeon’s glare. “I think, we can get rid of it.”

“You think? Doesn’t it add some colour to our dorm room?” Nayeon mocked.

“Wow, are you really dissing the thing that brought us together?” Sana gasped mockingly.

“Of course not. Such a brilliant idea Sana.” Nayeon cooed. “We wouldn’t be together without it.”

“Let’s rip it off together?” Sana suggested, eyes gleaming with a hint of mischief.

Nayeon nodded and the two of them moved to the edge of the wall where the tape started. Carefully scratching the edges, they pulled it off together.

The red tape that divided them at the start.

Yet, it was the red tape that united them too, at the end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading this fic!! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did while I was writing it :)  
> I know there were a lot of cliffhangers, but I did my best not to hurt you all, right?
> 
> happy early new year's too! may you all have a lovely 2019!


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